[Film] Film 2024

[dolphins]

Saw Trap yesterday, which is M Night Shyamalan's latest, and revolves around an arena concert at which a male killer is known to be attending, without the authorities knowing exactly who it is. Hence, they bring in the cops, SWAT and FBI teams to ensure no males leave without being checked/questioned. It's not a spoiler as it is obvious from the poster, and made even clearer in the trailer: Josh Hartnett is the person in question, and plays the role extremely well. Attending the gig with his daughter, his unease as he sees more and more personnel arrive, with exits all covered, grows.

I really enjoyed the film, and whilst the final act wasn't quite as good as the rest, thought it was a very interesting take on things. As someone who works in the music industry there were a few inconsistencies in the overall concert element of the film but most people wouldn't notice those. Interestingly I've this morning checked out reviews and not seen a positive one yet!

 

[herecomesaregular]

Alien: Romulus

Saw Aliens on VHS when home alone after pulling a sickie at school in '87 and it made a big impression. Been a fan of the series ever since (1-3 I've probably watched once a year) so I am knowingly suckered in to going to the cinema to watch the latest.

This one had seemingly good reviews...... but for me was another let down.

On the positives this does look very good, doing so without excessive use of cgi (and thus makes a cinema, big screen, trip worthwhile imo). I also liked what they did with the artificial person and I enjoyed the many Easter Eggs.

* SPOILERS *

After a mumble-y start I did enjoy the next half hour of build up but it went down hill sharply and the ending was too close to a Resurrection human/alien morph (an abysmal film). And poor old Ian Holm, what they did there really distracted and took me "out" of the film. Not sure what he'd think of that ...

My mate enjoyed it more. I don't regret going but it's only a 5.5/10 from me - edit: maybe more because it is worth a rewatch. Perhaps Ian Holm resurrected, god bless him, and the morph put me off a bit.

 

[dolphins]

Alien: Romulus

Saw Aliens on VHS when home alone after pulling a sickie at school in '87 and it made a big impression. Been a fan of the series ever since (1-3 I've probably watched once a year) so I am knowingly suckered in to going to the cinema to watch the latest.

This one had seemingly good reviews...... but for me was another let down.


* SPOILERS *

On the positives this does look very good, doing so without excessive use of cgi (and thus makes a cinema, big screen, trip worthwhile imo). I also liked what they did with the artificial person and I enjoyed the many Easter Eggs. After a mumble-y start I did enjoy the next half hour of build up but it went down hill sharply and the ending was too close to a Resurrection human/alien morph (an abysmal film). And poor old Ian Holm, what they did there really distracted and took me "out" of the film. Not sure what he'd think of that ...

My mate enjoyed it more. I don't regret going but it's only a 5.5/10 from me - edit: maybe more because it is worth a rewatch. Perhaps Ian Holm resurrected god bless him and the morph put me off a bit.

I'm similarly an Alienhead and saw it this lunchtime. REALLY enjoyed it and liked the feel of it, with some familiar bits and pieces (inevitable really), and one slight disappointment

Spoiler

was the artificial person completing the "get away from her..." line, and also how Ian Holm looked in a couple of shots but curiously most seemed fine.

Timing wise it meant I saw it in ScreenX and it really isn't worth it for this film.

 

[Easy 10]

Alien Romulus

A proper reboot of the franchise, finally stepping away from the mumbo-jumbo "origin" crap of Prometheus and Covenant (BO-RING), just returning to the abject TERROR of being trapped on a ship with a bunch of facehuggers and a xenomorph (then other...things). Timewise this one is set between Alien and Aliens, so takes place whilst Ripley is having her 56-year timeout.

So many nods to the first two classics, loved the return of the pulse rifle. The only criticism I would have is that there really isn't a strong lead role to compare with Ripley (and then Hicks, Burke, Vasquez, Hudson etc) but then thats a ridiculously high bar to set.

Some genuinely gruesome and unsettling scenes involving the gestation of the creature, a good back-story that really works, and some real nerve-shredding tension. This is, by far and away, the best Alien since the first two.

91%

 

[dolphins]

On Friday, saw Blink Twice, a post #MeToo film with Channing Tatum as a rich tech guy who invites people to his island for drink and drug fuelled parties. However, not all is as it seems...

Pretty good film - the partying scenes seem to go on just a tad too long for my liking, and the ending seemed a bit rushed, but intriguing all in all and a solid 3.5/5.

 

[Gabbafella]

Watched Longlegs over the weekend, massively over hyped and very disappointed with it. Me and the Mrs both found it to be very boring, not unsettling or creepy, just bland and uneventful.
Decent enough performances from both Monroe and Cage but we never felt like we cared about either character. 3/10.

Oddity. Much better film than the above. Better acting, more suspenseful and atmospheric. Didn't blow us away but definitely kept us engrossed until the end.
7/10.

New life. Bit of an odd one this. Never heard of it, essentially about a girl on the run and you don't really find out why until about halfway through, not what I expected at all. Quite an absorbing story until it goes a bit silly, I won't say any more in case I give anything away, I'd probably go into it blind as I'm not sure what the trailer reveals. First half of the film is thriller/drama, second half more horror. Not bad. 6/10

 

[dannyboy]

I had a triple bill of horror in Oddity , Longlegs and Alien Romulus . All pretty good but surprisingly Oddity was probably the best and im a huge alien fan.

 

[The Clamp]

Alien Romulus.

Proof if proof were needed that it’s best to leave things alone.

Cast was too young to appeal to me and I imagine most of the key audience for Alien films. Poorly written characters, including a British chav? Why?

The characters in the best Alien films (Alien and Aliens, obvs) are world weary, grizzled off worlders or Marines with some resilience and fight in them. These characters are far from that.
You just don’t care about them.

And why oh why oh why can’t they leave the concept of having Aliens mutate / mate with humans, alone. It’s crap.

The Xenomorph is more than enough on its own.

There were some good sequences but overall, a poor copy of former glories.

 

[Gabbafella]

Bit late to the game but me and the Mrs finally watched Trap tonight.
It's basically a shameless 2hr music video to promote M. Night Shyamalan's daughter.
The story is flimsy, the acting is horrendously wooden, it's a shockingly poor film from start to laughable finish.
0.5/10 and even that is being generous, a pile of cinematic shite.

 

[jcdenton08]

Operation Mincement (2022) - Amazon Prime*. 6.6 IMDB. 83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. 1hr 55.

On the whole, I enjoyed this. I am fascinated by World War II and do enjoy movies on the subject, so this was bound to be up my street.

The plot is based on the real life deception operation from the British secret service, Q branch, whereby a dead body was planted carrying (fake) military operation plans for an invasion of Greece.

The telling of the story is pretty straightforward, linear and largely easy to follow. I say largely because a lot of stuff is mentioned with an assumption of basic audience knowledge on wartime spying; for example references to the “XX” system. And yet, these high ranking officers felt the need to explain to each other who Alfred Jodl is. It comes the territory I suppose when making a commercial motion picture, but there are a couple of moments of “as you know…” for audience accessibility, which I personally could’ve done without.

I’m certainly not a professional historian, but the film lines up with the broad strokes of the reality of what happened in the real Operation Mincemeat, at least as I’ve read in books and seen in documentaries. Artistic license is inevitable, for example there was no alleged anti-Nazi operative, with scenes being added out of whole cloth for the purposes of narrative tension.

A love triangle plot provides the real emotional pull, and what humour is in the piece is understated. Not to say it’s dour, it just bobs along really.

The performances are solid, Colin Firth does his usual thing (charming upper/upper-middle class gentleman), and plays well opposite frenemy Matthew McFadyen. Familiar faces throughout the supporting roles too, with many who always seem to pop up in these types of things like Penelope Wilton, Simon Russell Beale and Alex Jennings.

The problem is… I’ve also seen a musical adaptation of this story in the West End - which was naturally very different - but had a whole lot more heart. I’d see that again instead, given a choice between the two.

7/10.


*I have the with-adverts subscription type and there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how many ads will be in any given show or film, or how long they’ll last. For example I watched a 30 minute show last week which had two lots of 30 second ads(!!). Tonight in a 2 hour movie, one lot of 15 second ads.

Anyone know how this actually works?

 

[Brightonfan1983]

I know @Brightonfan1983 wanted to watch the film again before continuing with the doc, I didn't feel the need, but maybe that's because RoboCop is so ingrained with me.

The sound guys alone must reference 20 other films from which they took their cues, all of which are cut into the doc.

I rewatched Aliens the other night, and have finished their "Making Of...", a new-fangled extra. Oh how I wish it had been made by the Robocop guys. For a start, I'm not sure the film itself dates too well, what with the little girl and Ripley's mother/daughter issues; overall it comes out as a fairly serviceable action film with a few bits of jarring ropey acting (Vasquez I'm looking at you), and it's definitely in the "Of Its Time" category. The extra is 4 hours of the cast, director and critics saying, and enjoying saying, What A Great Film It Is; there's none of the bonkers detail that made the Robocop Making Of so fantastic. The bar is high with that one.

 

[herecomesaregular]

I rewatched Aliens the other night, and have finished their "Making Of...", a new-fangled extra. Oh how I wish it had been made by the Robocop guys. For a start, I'm not sure the film itself dates too well, what with the little girl and Ripley's mother/daughter issues; overall it comes out as a fairly serviceable action film with a few bits of jarring ropey acting (Vasquez I'm looking at you), and it's definitely in the "Of Its Time" category. The extra is 4 hours of the cast, director and critics saying, and enjoying saying, What A Great Film It Is; there's none of the bonkers detail that made the Robocop Making Of so fantastic. The bar is high with that one.

Thanks for this as was interested in the new docu but seems like something i wouldn't pay for. Politely disagree about the movie itself though (the film up to first contact with the creatures is my favourite "tension build up" in any movie and something I can and will rewatch happily until end of my days). The casting is also perfect imho (they don't seem to be able to get the casting right so often in modern films?) and the banter and chemistry between the actors wonderful to see. Perhaps can't argue that it is dated/of it's time but then I saw it at 15ish when it first came onto vhs so I am also a bit dated....

 

[herecomesaregular]

Where are people watching Oddity, as it doesn't seem to have an English release? Really want to see this one.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Really looking forward to this come then end of the month

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...n-is-remarkable-in-a-sensitive-recovery-drama

 

[Brightonfan1983]

Thanks for this as was interested in the new docu but seems like something i wouldn't pay for. Politely disagree about the movie itself though (the film up to first contact with the creatures is my favourite "tension build up" in any movie and something I can and will rewatch happily until end of my days). The casting is also perfect imho (they don't seem to be able to get the casting right so often in modern films?) and the banter and chemistry between the actors wonderful to see. Perhaps can't argue that it is dated/of it's time but then I saw it at 15ish when it first came onto vhs so I am also a bit dated....

Oh don't not see it based off this one grump's opinion! Sounds like you'd really enjoy it and would get a big kick out of the interviews with all the big hitters, and behind the scenes footage (there are some 'filmed on a handheld camera while they're actually shooting' clips so beloved of the 80s!).

For me, who's not particularly a fan of sci-fi or a huge lover of the film, it felt like the extra was made for fans, rather than by fans for fans, if you see what I mean. I'd be interested in what you think of it.

*plus the director's cut with a couple of deleted scenes, make, Ripley especially, better for me.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

...

 

[The Clamp]

Aliens is a superb film and holds up exceptionally.

 

[herecomesaregular]

Oh don't not see it based off this one grump's opinion! Sounds like you'd really enjoy it and would get a big kick out of the interviews with all the big hitters, and behind the scenes footage (there are some 'filmed on a handheld camera while they're actually shooting' clips so beloved of the 80s!).

For me, who's not particularly a fan of sci-fi or a huge lover of the film, it felt like the extra was made for fans, rather than by fans for fans, if you see what I mean. I'd be interested in what you think of it.

*plus the director's cut with a couple of deleted scenes, make, Ripley especially, better for me.

Fair enough - where/how did you see the new docu btw? If it's cheap I'd watch it but a self congratulatory love-in sounds a bit of a bore fest tbf.

I watched the Theatrical cut again recently having for many years just watched the Special Edition and still not sure which I prefer (certainly if you've never seen it the threatrical cut is the better first watch) -if only there was an option to splice in which deleted scenes you wanted then it would be almost perfect, I'd rebuy it again if they repackaged it like that! I'd add in the info about her daughter at the start and the sentry guns scene but keep out the early look at LV426 and Hudson's clunky ultimate-badass speech.

 

[dolphins]

Fair enough - where/how did you see the new docu btw? If it's cheap I'd watch it but a self congratulatory love-in sounds a bit of a bore fest tbf.

I watched the Theatrical cut again recently having for many years just watched the Special Edition and still not sure which I prefer (certainly if you've never seen it the threatrical cut is the better first watch) -if only there was an option to splice in which deleted scenes you wanted then it would be almost perfect, I'd rebuy it again if they repackaged it like that! I'd add in the info about her daughter at the start and the sentry guns scene but keep out the early look at LV426 and Hudson's clunky ultimate-badass speech.

Sounds like it is that expensive sort-of crowdfunding one, which I missed out on during the participation period, and was sad to have. However, then I found loads of stuff on Reddit etc from people who HAD stumped up the cash (and it wasn't cheap, even just a digital download version) and were slating it. Alien and Aliens are both up there in my favourite films so a new, and well-done, look behind the scenes etc would go down extremely well with me. I'll content myself with the extras on the various editions (which I must have most of!).

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

Where are people watching Oddity, as it doesn't seem to have an English release? Really want to see this one.

Ground control to Captain Pugwash