[Film] Film 2019

[Uncle Spielberg]

Mrs The Clamp and her Mother went to see it at Worthing Dome last week and thought it was brilliant. They’re not easily impressed and rarely visit the cinema but couldn’t sing it’s praises enough. I’m going to see it tomorrow on the strength of their review and I had zero interest before they saw it.
As an aside I saw Saving Private Ryan on the big screen last week at the odeon. It’s stunning on the big screen. Was blown away.

Saving Private Ryan is the greatest ever war film. The first 25 minutes was Spielberg at the absolute peak of his game. I doubt we will see a more powerful and meticulously filmed scene again

 

[The Clamp]

Saving Private Ryan is the greatest ever war film. The first 25 minutes was Spielberg at the absolute peak of his game. I doubt we will see a more powerful and meticulously filmed scene again

Agreed. Was awe inspiring on the big screen. What surprised me though was how great the more intimate scenes, the church scene etc came across on the big screen. I just got lost in it. Totally absorbed.

 

[Acker79]

Is Rocketman any good ? The box office is disappointing compared to Bohemian Rhapsody and the imdb average is lower. Kermode almost wet himself with excitement at the film but not seen much other evidence of big appeal

I think it can depend on what you're looking for. I really enjoyed it, but I like musicals and as a musical biopic, Rocketman leans heavily to musical. There are dance numbers, the songs are shared and performed as storytelling (like typical musical numbers) and ignored chronology (as opposed to the typical habit of musical biopics like bohemian rhapsody, which have the songs in the order they were released, shown as performances on stage/tv shows or in a recording studio). There are also songs sung by Elton as performances.

I think it's dangerous to look at box office alone. Bohemian Rhapsody had a massive award season/oscar push and award wins that will always drive up attendance, especially when the film is still in cinemas. You're also comparing an R-rated film with a PG-13 movie (15 v 12A in the UK), which reduces the potential audience. You're comparing a film that shied away from the homosexuality of its main character v one that revelled in the homosexuality of its main star even though it restricted the marketability of the movie, and whether it can be shown in certain countries. You're also comparing a film that was released 7.5 months ago with one that was released just over two weeks ago (US release dates - it's the biggest market and has the biggest impact on box office takings - it's almost 8 months v 3 weeks for UK release).

Probably worth noting, also, that when Bryan Singer walked off set of BoRhap (around the same time there was growing focus on claims that he sexually assaulted underage boys), Dexter Fletcher took over directing duties before he went on to direct Rocketman.

 

[Acker79]

Since my triplebill post I've caught a couple more

Godzilla: King of Monsters - eh. Not the greatest, it gives you giant monsters fighting, so there's that, but the human side of the story is barely worth it.

Brightburn - good, but not spectacular. I was hoping that rather than following the story set up in the trailer, i.e. an origin story of evil superman, that would be the first act of the movie and the final two acts would take the story beyond that basic set up. It didn't, but it does the origin well enough to enjoy.

 

[The Clamp]

Brightburn. Enjoyable evil superman yarn. Very gory and fast paced but forgettable.

6/10

 

[Acker79]

Been for few viewings since my last post:

Child's Play
I don't have great love for the original. I'm pretty sure I've seen the original trilogy and at least one of the more recent sequels, so I didn't come to it with any great deference to the original, or any sense of 'how dare they?!' to this new one. It was fine. It felt like there was a point in the big finale where they had changed their plan, like an original ending didn't test well. Creepy more than scary.

Avengers: Endgame (re-release with extra footage)
I had wanted to catch this again before it left the cinemas but didn't get around to it, so was glad it's been re-released. I was interested in the extra-footage, but it wasn't the be-all of my desire to see it. Which is good, because I'm not sure the extra footage was worth it - a short tribute to Stan Lee, a short unfinished deleted scene introducing the Hulk slightly differently, a scene from spider-man (turns out it is the very first, pre-credits scene from the film), then the trailer for spider-man. Still love it.

Spider-Man: Far From Home
I enjoyed the film while I was watching it, but in retrospect I don't know how often I'll rewatch it. It's hard to explain without spoiling the film, but for reasons, there is a sense toward the end of 'is that really the end?' and then yes, it is. However, it had two end credit scenes, that I loved. I didn't know anything about them, and it's better if you don't, but both have notable impact on the future of both Spider-Man and the Marvel universe.

Toy Story 4
A little disappointing, really. I know it's a film about living toys, but this one seemed to ask the audience to take leaps of logic and believability that didn't feel reasonable, and it just felt like it didn't quite 'get' the world/characters/story.

 

[The Clamp]

Midsommar.

Unsettling folk horror flick from the director of the much praised (over praised, I think) Hereditary.

A group of American graduates are invited to their Swedish friend’s remote home village in rural Sweden to share in a festival held once every 90 years. The main character, Christian, also feels compelled to invite his girlfriend along after she suffers a triple tragedy in the first twenty mins of the film.

Once there they immediately set about taking magic mushrooms and being welcomed to the bucolic paradise by the small community who can not do enough to make the Americans feel at home.
Over the next two hours a steadily ratcheting sense of dread is punctuated with some truly shocking rituals. An elderly couple take a suicidal dive from a cliff top in front of they gathered villagers, the moment of impact on the rocks below shown in grim, lingering detail. A steady diet of hallucinogens, sexual tension, impending doom and disappearing guests creeps towards a finale that is effective but borrows far too much from The Wicker Man to truly impress.

I liked a lot about this film. It’s not your typical horror film, the tension rises slowly and there are some great performances and scenery but it didn’t quite live up to all the five star reviews it’s been getting.

None of the characters are particularly likeable or even very nice, it borders on being boring about halfway through and it’s a bit obvious but it does a decent enough job. It’s surprisingly laugh out loud funny in some places, intentionally so.

It’s worth a watch but it’s really not going to be for a lot of people.

Interesting but not nearly as good as it thinks it is.

6/10

 

[herecomesaregular]

Yesterday - a huge disappointment and shocked that such lameness is associated with Danny Boyle.

Nothing in the acting or how things panned out rang true, a fatal flaw which kills the film. Himesh Patel can sing and play the songs well but isn't a good another actor to convince in the role.

And a great premise wasted.

Avoid, avoid.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Midsommar.

Unsettling folk horror flick from the director of the much praised (over praised, I think) Hereditary.

A group of American graduates are invited to their Swedish friend’s remote home village in rural Sweden to share in a festival held once every 90 years. The main character, Christian, also feels compelled to invite his girlfriend along after she suffers a triple tragedy in the first twenty mins of the film.

Once there they immediately set about taking magic mushrooms and being welcomed to the bucolic paradise by the small community who can not do enough to make the Americans feel at home.
Over the next two hours a steadily ratcheting sense of dread is punctuated with some truly shocking rituals. An elderly couple take a suicidal dive from a cliff top in front of they gathered villagers, the moment of impact on the rocks below shown in grim, lingering detail. A steady diet of hallucinogens, sexual tension, impending doom and disappearing guests creeps towards a finale that is effective but borrows far too much from The Wicker Man to truly impress.

I liked a lot about this film. It’s not your typical horror film, the tension rises slowly and there are some great performances and scenery but it didn’t quite live up to all the five star reviews it’s been getting.

None of the characters are particularly likeable or even very nice, it borders on being boring about halfway through and it’s a bit obvious but it does a decent enough job. It’s surprisingly laugh out loud funny in some places, intentionally so.

It’s worth a watch but it’s really not going to be for a lot of people.

Interesting but not nearly as good as it thinks it is.

6/10

I thought it well good, like. Yeah there's the Wicker Man influence there, but it was beautiful to look at, in amongst the sometimes comic gore, and the dismantling of a relationship accompanied by magic mushrooms was engrossing. I felt bits of The Shining in there too. Pugh was great with it.
I'd give it a 7.6 out of 8.2.

 

[dolphins]

I thought it well good, like. Yeah there's the Wicker Man influence there, but it was beautiful to look at, in amongst the sometimes comic gore, and the dismantling of a relationship accompanied by magic mushrooms was engrossing. I felt bits of The Shining in there too. Pugh was great with it.
I'd give it a 7.6 out of 8.2.

Pugh was superb in it, I thought. Purposefully avoided reviews of it, and only saw the trailer, which only hinted at the extent of the weirdness of the film. Beautifully shot, music very well placed, and the trippy feel was very subtly and effectively created. Definitely not a film for everyone, but really glad I saw it. Would I see it again? Probably not, but not in a disappointed way.

 

[studio150]

Not a new film, but back from seeing Stop Making Sense at the Old Market.

Great to see the Talking Heads concert film on a big screen. Good of the cinema audience to provide the feeling of being at a concert by clapping at the end of the song, and continually popping out to the bar or a comfort break.

Only downside the volume could have been a tad louder.

 

[Acker79]

Went to the Unlimited Secret Screening this evening. Turned out to be 'Blinded By The Light'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtmeIu0dEqQ

I had seen the trailer a while back and liked the look of it, but also thought it would be the type I wouldn't want to see enough to actually make the effort to go, so I was kinda glad it was this. I enjoyed it, lot of 80s things (one of the characters drinks top deck at one point!), it's a bit of a love letter to bruce with a bit of immigrant family/80s sociopolitics story with some clunky 'look at this issue from the 80s that is thing now' moments.

I did see on imdb a few 1 star reviews from other cineworld viewers, but most stayed at my showing, some could be heard sniffling during the emotional moments. I think sometimes people go to these secret cinema showings expecting a really big mainstream movie (not entirely unreasonable, one of the recent ... of the apes movies was featured in a secret cinema, as was incredibles 2) and allow their dsappointment to colour how they view the film. But I enjoyed it.

 

[dolphins]

Forgot to mention the end music of Midsommar which came as quite a surprise! Won't say any more but those who have seen it, will know what I mean!

Just back from Spider-Man: Far From Home which was another pretty entertaining Marvel film but with the added interest of Peter Parker on a school trip to Europe. Aunt May does seem to be getting younger (an affect of the snap?) although not going to complain at seeing Marisa Tomei on screen again.

 

[Easy 10]

Saw Rocketman the other day, the Elton John musical/biopic. Much like Bohemian Rhapsody, it plays a little fast and loose with the facts and chronology of events, taking a bit of artistic licence, but its still hugely entertaining. Taron Egerton is excellent as Elton. Not the most talented in terms of vocals, but then then neither was the original, so he gets away with it.

I wasn't sure if I'd get on with actors bursting into song a-la Les Miserables, but its done sporadically and on the whole works well. There are some great visual flourishes, and its fun to hear some of his greatest hits at their conception when he's just toying with a tune. It was also a revelation to me that he didn't write lyrics - his songwriter friend would write the song, Elton would read the words, then sit at his piano and compose his music to them.

Enjoyed it a lot. 90%.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Just watched Fisherman's Friends. Loved it.

A bit soppy but I'm getting old. If you like things like 'Brassed Off' then it's for you.

13.6 / 15

 

[Meade's Ball]

Tis another lone time for Meade, with Meade Jr and mother Meade Jr in Spain with their kin. It means cinema and slovenliness. This time, though, i haven't much liked it, and that's not for the quality of film observed. It perturbs me a tad how much i've had to work and not see Meade Jr enough. He's only approaching 2 and i facetime him of an evening whilst they're away, but i don't want to be this sporadic and momentary figure that steals seconds, and too often uninspiringly. What has this to do with films? Nothing. Maybe i am seeing films as a greater time filler, but who much cares. Anyway, what did i see?

Let's start with Spiderman, Home, something Home and Away yada yada. Is there a strong life for Marvel output after the Avengers? Probably, as money will still pour in for slightly moody escapades. This one didn't impress or enthral me greatly, but a lot of that is to do with how i find them all as teens rather annoying. They're mostly bereft of depth, and mourning someone as uninteresting as Tony Stark won't help feign it. Gyllenhaal was ok, as he at least usually always is, but i didn't believe what happened much, or hugely care. A bog-standard ending too.

The Dead Don't Die. I am sure i had high hopes for this, but higher than when watching it. It had it's comedy moments, but there was little coherence and it felt laboured, especially with the supposed amusement of characters breaking the 4th wall and claiming to know more of the script than others. It became self-referential, in a way because it didn't know what else to do. Iggy Pop as 1 zombie was funny, and i would have liked to have seen a whole film of his exploits. Tilda Swinton was quite funny too.

Only You. This was pretty good. Emotional and striking for much of the time as romance begins with the mid20s chap and mid30s lady. They race into parts of a relationship that would usually take longer, but i wonder about each of their ages being individually the key for why this would happen, alongside the love on display. It didn't always fit, for me, and it was a long way from the perfect romance, but it was nicely player, and not dumb.

Never Look Away. I think i have a slight thing for 3 hour German films. I saw this 1 today and again i didn't notice how long it took whilst in there. This was mostly non-comedic in comparison to Toni Erdmann, the last lengthy German film i liked, but it built up into an effective melodrama in spite of its lack of subtlety. It's a saga beginning in the mid 1930s Germany with an adoration for Adolf and a culling of the disabled or supposed inferiors. It seems to be a cry, in a way, of remembering and using those memories when evaluating some of the dumbfoundingly racist leaders we're under the cosh of today. The title, though, is said to a young boy, already an artist to be, by his sister, who could be labelled eccentric. The horrid doctor who was clearly not on her side, and the young boy's lives collide, whilst art and judgement continue to be symbols of their surroundings as decades pass. It seemed corny at times, but it hit home on occasion and the finale was satisfyingly non-standard.

Not sure there's anything else to go to now really. I will probably see another film or 2 before i fly off to see wee Meadinho with hopefully dried tearducts.

 

[MattBackHome]

Tis another lone time for Meade, with Meade Jr and mother Meade Jr in Spain with their kin. It means cinema and slovenliness. This time, though, i haven't much liked it, and that's not for the quality of film observed. It perturbs me a tad how much i've had to work and not see Meade Jr enough. He's only approaching 2 and i facetime him of an evening whilst they're away, but i don't want to be this sporadic and momentary figure that steals seconds, and too often uninspiringly. What has this to do with films? Nothing. Maybe i am seeing films as a greater time filler, but who much cares. Anyway, what did i see?

Let's start with Spiderman, Home, something Home and Away yada yada. Is there a strong life for Marvel output after the Avengers? Probably, as money will still pour in for slightly moody escapades. This one didn't impress or enthral me greatly, but a lot of that is to do with how i find them all as teens rather annoying. They're mostly bereft of depth, and mourning someone as uninteresting as Tony Stark won't help feign it. Gyllenhaal was ok, as he at least usually always is, but i didn't believe what happened much, or hugely care. A bog-standard ending too.

The Dead Don't Die. I am sure i had high hopes for this, but higher than when watching it. It had it's comedy moments, but there was little coherence and it felt laboured, especially with the supposed amusement of characters breaking the 4th wall and claiming to know more of the script than others. It became self-referential, in a way because it didn't know what else to do. Iggy Pop as 1 zombie was funny, and i would have liked to have seen a whole film of his exploits. Tilda Swinton was quite funny too.

Only You. This was pretty good. Emotional and striking for much of the time as romance begins with the mid20s chap and mid30s lady. They race into parts of a relationship that would usually take longer, but i wonder about each of their ages being individually the key for why this would happen, alongside the love on display. It didn't always fit, for me, and it was a long way from the perfect romance, but it was nicely player, and not dumb.

Never Look Away. I think i have a slight thing for 3 hour German films. I saw this 1 today and again i didn't notice how long it took whilst in there. This was mostly non-comedic in comparison to Toni Erdmann, the last lengthy German film i liked, but it built up into an effective melodrama in spite of its lack of subtlety. It's a saga beginning in the mid 1930s Germany with an adoration for Adolf and a culling of the disabled or supposed inferiors. It seems to be a cry, in a way, of remembering and using those memories when evaluating some of the dumbfoundingly racist leaders we're under the cosh of today. The title, though, is said to a young boy, already an artist to be, by his sister, who could be labelled eccentric. The horrid doctor who was clearly not on her side, and the young boy's lives collide, whilst art and judgement continue to be symbols of their surroundings as decades pass. It seemed corny at times, but it hit home on occasion and the finale was satisfyingly non-standard.

Not sure there's anything else to go to now really. I will probably see another film or 2 before i fly off to see wee Meadinho with hopefully dried tearducts.

Keep your pecker up MB x

Sent from my STF-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[vegster]

Managed to catch Yesterday at the Marina this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyable it was too. The love story around it was a little wishy washy and predictable but the film had many laugh out loud moments and a few moments of genuine pathos. Himesh Patel has come a long way since EastEnders and was a great lead who puts a lot of himself in to his Beatles song performances. Good support from the other actors and actresses too, would recommend it as a feel good movie.

7.9

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Down to Duke of Yorks for midday matinee of MIDSOMMAR, where an audience of several dozen were treated to a full 25 minutes of ads, including no less than FOUR different 'wacky' gin adverts, oh, and a trailer for the new Tarantino which will of course be mandatory viewing round these parts. AND those parts. Anyways, I digress, on to Midsommar. It's directed by Ari Aster who did last year's Hereditary. Like Hereditary it's too long. In fact whereas Hereditary was maybe half an hour too long, Midsommar may be approaching a full HOUR too long (all those dining and dancing and chanting scenes get pretty old pretty quick) And like Hereditary it's completely head-mental, a mad hallucinogenic cross between The Wicker Man and every Dumb College Kids Find Something Nasty Down In The Woods movie you ever saw. Subtle it ain't. And it's not about to be endorsed by the Swedish Tourist Board anytime soon. But if you liked Hereditary, you'll LOVE this.

7/10

 

[dolphins]

Managed to catch Yesterday at the Marina this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyable it was too. The love story around it was a little wishy washy and predictable but the film had many laugh out loud moments and a few moments of genuine pathos. Himesh Patel has come a long way since EastEnders and was a great lead who puts a lot of himself in to his Beatles song performances. Good support from the other actors and actresses too, would recommend it as a feel good movie.

7.9

Totally agree. Lightweight fluff but nothing wrong with that. There was one scene which could/should have hit the editing room floor, later on in the film, which just seemed rather odd and totally unnecessary, but other than that. Patel great, James really good too, although balanced by Joel Fry's Rocky who seemed a bit one-dimensional as did Kate McKinnon's stereotypical nasty agent.