[Film] Film 2020

[Uncle Spielberg]

Fleshed out

Decent enough with an interesting and well told story well acted but better than 1917 ? Let's be serious here. A decent plot twist half way through that was unexpected.

To be honest none of the characters were very pleasant.

The rich family were shallow and did not like the " smell " of the poor and the poor family exploited a gullible woman who was not the full ticket. The question is who was the parasite ?

It all got a bit Quentin Tarantino at the end.

For me an Academy box ticking exercise to award it to Parasite. Much like Moonlight 3 years ago. Certainly not a bad film, it engaged me but best film of 2019 ? Nah

It rates a 77 out of 100

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Cheeky double for me this evening, the frankly dire Call Of The Wild (5/10) and then the interesting but ultimately a little flat Greed (6/10).

Not a good year for films so far in my opinion, 24 seen in the cinema now and I don't have a particular favourite. Nothing particularly interesting or clever so far, Parasite would have been but it's become very overrated so it nudges down a little bit for me. I'm not too sure there's a great feast of cinema to come so I'm expecting this year to be a bit of a lull in quality.

 

[vegster]

Saw Portrait of a Girl on Fire tonight at Worthing Connaught with Mrs V. It was incredibly sparsely attended, Mrs V had bought tickets the day before but she needn't have bothered as there was only 25 people in. The film itself was beautifully shot and scripted, it tells the story of a brief lesbian fling in the late 18th century between a girl who has been lined up to marry an unknown Milanese suitor ( bad move at the moment, bring a thermometer ) and an artist who has been commissioned to paint the lady in question as an early form of Tinder.

It genuinely is a marvellous film to watch, there is an incredibly small cast and not a lot actually happens on the surface but there are marvellous interactions combined with a very good script going on underneath. However, brace yourself for possibly the hairiest armpit scene ever seen on the big screen !

7.8

 

[Is it PotG?]

A Hidden Life;

Terry M’s new picture.
Unless you’re into lingering shots of fields of grass or you enjoy campanology, this is boring as feck. Very, very long, ponderous and grim. Three hours. Avoid.

0.5/10

Just watched A Hidden Life.

Found the cinematography stunning, the subject matter engrossing and the thought provoking philosophy quite taking.

“..for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” - George Eliot

12.8 / 15

 

[The Clamp]

Just watched A Hidden Life.

Found the cinematography stunning, the subject matter engrossing and the thought provoking philosophy quite taking.

“..for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” - George Eliot

12.8 / 15

Fair enough. I’m afraid I’ve given up on Malik’s self indulgence.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I popped along last night to watch The Invisible Man, magnificent film. Brilliantly acted by Elisabeth Moss mainly, but with a strong supporting cast. The plot moves around a little bit although not overly surprisingly. There were a couple of genuine jump scares, the young lady I saw it with jumped out of her skin twice ( ) which was hilarious. I gave it a 9/10 and it's my favourite film of the year so far.

I'm looking forward to Dark Waters either later or tomorrow, I expect that to be fantastic.

 

[Easy 10]

The Invisible Man

Pros: Great performance from Elizabeth Moss as mentioned above. Really effective ratcheting up of tension simply by showing "nothing" as the camera pans slowly towards an apparently empty part of the room. Not overly showy with special effects, but the scenes of violence are all the more jarring as a result.

Cons: The plot requires some absolutely ENORMOUS leaps in logic as it builds towards the end. There's a fairly predictable twist. And there was no secret perving whatsoever.

Overall though a very enjoyable and refreshing take on the character/theme. 82%.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Downhill. Now, obviously I wasn't expecting anything major because, well, Will Ferrell. But good lord, it is atrocious from start to end. Not funny, not dramatic, not interesting, not entertaining. It really is one of the worst films I've ever gone and seen. It's not as bad as the unforgivable Australia, that will probably always rank as number 1 on the shit list, but it really does have a good go.

Downhill is a worse film than Cats.

 

[dolphins]

The Invisible Man

Pros: Great performance from Elizabeth Moss as mentioned above. Really effective ratcheting up of tension simply by showing "nothing" as the camera pans slowly towards an apparently empty part of the room. Not overly showy with special effects, but the scenes of violence are all the more jarring as a result.

Cons: The plot requires some absolutely ENORMOUS leaps in logic as it builds towards the end. There's a fairly predictable twist. And there was no secret perving whatsoever.

Overall though a very enjoyable and refreshing take on the character/theme. 82%.

This. Saw it on the IMAX at Crawley this morning and really enjoyed it. Soundtrack worked a treat at building the tension and it wasn't the normal sort of hokey Invisible Man take - no peeling off bandages and cheesy tricks. As Easy 10 notes, the violence is quite jarring and despite it being a 15, it won't necessarily suit some of a more delicate disposition, who don't like fairly graphic shots...

Think I might be due to see Downhill next week, so might need to reassess this with my chum.

 

[Easy 10]

This. Saw it on the IMAX at Crawley this morning and really enjoyed it. Soundtrack worked a treat at building the tension and it wasn't the normal sort of hokey Invisible Man take - no peeling off bandages and cheesy tricks. As Easy 10 notes, the violence is quite jarring and despite it being a 15, it won't necessarily suit some of a more delicate disposition, who don't like fairly graphic shots...

Think I might be due to see Downhill next week, so might need to reassess this with my chum.

I've since reflected on the chain of events that occur towards the final act and they still make no sense whatsover, some gigantic liberties taken. But its an enjoyable flick nonetheless.

 

[Meade's Ball]

I have an in-laws family visit at the minute, so i try to use that time to flee to the cinema. Last it was Dark Waters and, oddly, there was a small cheer at the beginning when it started. The audience didn't seem corona-terrified as it was a full house and no one was swatted away. I didn't cheer at the start, and i didn't do much internally during either. Whilst the story was important to tell, of an evil company killing people, all for profit, really, in a self-regulated field for the much part, a field blackened with poison, it was told expertly. And some of the acting at times was painful to watch - god that Anne Hathaway i could barely stomach, and Mark Ruffalo, who nobly produced for the tale to be more widely resuscitated and aired, can rarely emit readable emotion. Bill Camp as a barking farmer was really quite bad too. It went on, and a sense of character to those chopped and changed without great reason. I squirmed a bit and what could have been a subtle telling of the rottenness of corporate existence jarringly and hammily went along without the cohesion that Teflon and the human body have so unfortunately adopted.

Today i have an early Fellini flick, and expect much better.

 

[studio150]

Dark Waters, as you would expect with a legal drama based on actual events a film that is all dialogue. Not being familiar with the American legal case I found the film engrossing
The details at the end of the film certainly make you sit up and think given the number of people worldwide that have some trace of the chemical within their bodies.

If you haven't seen the film, you can probably wait for it to reach streaming services as not necessary to see it on the big screen.

Good but not that good.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Dark Waters, as you would expect with a legal drama based on actual events a film that is all dialogue. Not being familiar with the American legal case I found the film engrossing
The details at the end of the film certainly make you sit up and think given the number of people worldwide that have some trace of the chemical within their bodies.

If you haven't seen the film, you can probably wait for it to reach streaming services as not necessary to see it on the big screen.

Good but not that good.

That was my reaction as well - good but not as good as Spotlight, which is a fairly similar kind of premise of uncovering a scandal. I enjoyed it, Mark Ruffalo is a brilliant actor for that type of role in my opinion but it's just not as good as I hoped it would be.

Tonight I'm doing a double bill of Onwards followed by Little Joe. I'm not necessarily expecting either to be brilliant though to be perfectly honest.

 

[Wilko]

Dark Waters, as you would expect with a legal drama based on actual events a film that is all dialogue. Not being familiar with the American legal case I found the film engrossing
The details at the end of the film certainly make you sit up and think given the number of people worldwide that have some trace of the chemical within their bodies.

If you haven't seen the film, you can probably wait for it to reach streaming services as not necessary to see it on the big screen.

Good but not that good.

I share this view. It was interesting but would actually work as a documentary or even a Netflix release. Kept me intrigued but not exactly one I will be itching to see again.

 

[dolphins]

Dark Waters, as you would expect with a legal drama based on actual events a film that is all dialogue. Not being familiar with the American legal case I found the film engrossing
The details at the end of the film certainly make you sit up and think given the number of people worldwide that have some trace of the chemical within their bodies.

If you haven't seen the film, you can probably wait for it to reach streaming services as not necessary to see it on the big screen.

Good but not that good.

This - engrossing, thought it was very well acted, but won't rush to see it again soon. Definitely worth watching in some way though, small screen would be absolutely fine.

 

[Acker79]

The True History of the Kelly Gang
I think I liked it. It didn't have the absurdist humour I was expecting, or not in the volume I was expecting it. Really enjoyed Nicholas Hoult, which I rarely do. Same with Russell Crowe's brief screen time. Think it would make a great double-bill with Nightingale.

 

[Easy 10]

I know this is Film 2020, but I watched Mad Max: Fury Road again the other night.

I'm giving it 95%. Probably the best action flick of the last 10 years. Its bold, ridiculous, and absolutely non-stop. Its IMPOSSIBLE not to enjoy this movie - the number of times I laughed a "f*cking hell" out loud is testament to its brashness. The various vehicles are a ridiculous work of art, the deliberate lack of CGI in the chases and the crashes are a joy. Its cuffing brilliant from start to finish. Max (Tom Hardy) is actually quite underwhelming, but Furiosa (a one-armed Charlize Theron) and Immortal Joe more than make up for it.

If you haven't seen this flick yet - you're missing out. Its absolutely bonkers brilliant

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[pearl]

The True History of the Kelly Gang
I think I liked it. It didn't have the absurdist humour I was expecting, or not in the volume I was expecting it. Really enjoyed Nicholas Hoult, which I rarely do. Same with Russell Crowe's brief screen time. Think it would make a great double-bill with Nightingale.

I saw it at DOYs nearly two weeks ago. I enjoyed it and liked the slightly bonkers-ness of it all, the story, the cast, the music. Russell Crowe was terrific, loved the 'family' sing song round the dinner table.
I thought the ending let it down though, lost the plot a bit .... like the characters.

 

[Acker79]

I saw it at DOYs nearly two weeks ago. I enjoyed it and liked the slightly bonkers-ness of it all, the story, the cast, the music. Russell Crowe was terrific, loved the 'family' sing song round the dinner table.
I thought the ending let it down though, lost the plot a bit .... like the characters.

Oh yeah, I loved the music, and particularly the constable song. I was expecting a more consistent thread of bonkersness to it, though.

 

[dolphins]

For those who (like me) had A Quiet Place II booked for next week (I was going on Thursday to see it at Crawley's 4DX screen) you might want to know that it has (quite aptly) quietly been put back to an unspecified date in the future.

I'll wait and see if Cineworld contact me about it...looking on the schedule for Thursday, at roughly the same time as AQP2 was going to screen, Onward is in its place, and there's no mention of AQP2 at all. However, in My Account it is still showing as an active booking...