What films have you watched recently?

Philly_Q

Offset said:

Stratavarious said:

Iron Sky…

Watching this one again. 

The Nazis set up a base on the dark side of the moon in 1945 and now they are planning to come back!  

It's exactly as mad as you’d expect.   Underrated on IMDB.  Solid satire.

8/10

Immediately added to my watchlist.  Did you watch it on a streaming service (and if so, which one)?

I think you can rent it for 99p on Prime.

Shrews

rze99 said:

Mr Jones

BBC IPlayer

Movie based on the true story of the determined British journalist Gareth Jones, who uncovers the truth of the miracle success of the Soviet economy hides the reality of a devastating famine ('Holodomor') in which millions died in Ukrainian Republic, then part of the Soviet Union.

A reminder -  if we needed one - about the need for heroic journalism to uncover terrible deeds.

A tale for our times. Again.

Very good.

8/10

Not sure about Russia, but in Belarus they do not like to talk about 'Holodomor'. I mentioned it once and my fiancee told me to be quiet and not to speak about it. It's the only time I've ever seen her show a little bit of anger towards me and I've done plenty of stupid things for her to be angry about!

I have said it before on here, we know very little about that side of the world and vice versa. It is like we two completely different histories. For example, our tales of heroism in the wars are largely unheard of there, likewise their tales to us. It has been an eye opener for me. 

I had never heard of Holodomor before watching this film. That's pretty awful for a 58yo not to have heard about something as terrible as this. I agree it was a solid 8/10. 

robgilmo

Power Rangers,

Both my kids loved the series, so , wee man and myself sat down and watched the movie, its really very good, some scary bits that younger kids might find scary but all in all its a great movie to watch with the kids and munch on pringles and easter aggs..

fretmeister

Stratavarious said:

Iron Sky…

Watching this one again. 

The Nazis set up a base on the dark side of the moon in 1945 and now they are planning to come back!  

It's exactly as mad as you’d expect.   Underrated on IMDB.  Solid satire.

8/10

Directors Cut is even better! 

swiller

20 days in mariupol.
Its a hard watch and tough to recommend, but a 10/10 piece of film and an honour to watch. Nothing short of an actual horror film.

Stratavarious

Offset said:

Stratavarious said:

Iron Sky…

Watching this one again. 

The Nazis set up a base on the dark side of the moon in 1945 and now they are planning to come back!  

It's exactly as mad as you’d expect.   Underrated on IMDB.  Solid satire.

8/10

Immediately added to my watchlist.  Did you watch it on a streaming service (and if so, which one)?

I have it on DVD..  there is a sequel too.

SteveRobinson

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Amazon Prime

French courtroom drama, brilliantly acted.

guitargeek62

Godzilla x Kong (2024) 

Not much chance of any Oscars for this one, but it’s still a fun & brainless popcorn movie. 6/10, would watch again.

Philly_Q

You'll Never Find Me (Shudder)

At 2.00 am with a thunderstorm raging outside, a middle-aged man sitting alone in his trailer is disturbed by a knock at his door... it's a bedraggled young woman in need of a lift or at very least a phone.  The man explains that his car is out of order and the only phone is a payphone some distance away.  So the two settle down in the cramped confines of the trailer, waiting for the storm to ease.

This is tense, atmospheric and very well made.  Whether or not it absolutely "works" will, I think, depend on the personal feelings of the viewer, but it's certainly an impressive effort by the first-time writer/directors.

Offset

Philly_Q said:

You'll Never Find Me (Shudder)

At 2.00 am with a thunderstorm raging outside, a middle-aged man sitting alone in his trailer is disturbed by a knock at his door... it's a bedraggled young woman in need of a lift or at very least a phone.  The man explains that his car is out of order and the only phone is a payphone some distance away.  So the two settle down in the cramped confines of the trailer, waiting for the storm to ease.

This is tense, atmospheric and very well made.  Whether or not it absolutely "works" will, I think, depend on the personal feelings of the viewer, but it's certainly an impressive effort by the first-time writer/directors.

Added to my watchlist, ta Phil.

ewal

SteveRobinson said:

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Amazon Prime

French courtroom drama, brilliantly acted.

We saw it at the cinema. It's excellent.

DrCornelius

The Card Counter on Film 4

Dark and moody drama about an ex US Abu Graib guard who after coming out of a military prison makes his living playing cards.  I wont give too much away but its a slow burner but holds your interest nicely. William Defoe plays William Defoe very well and it reminded me very much of his film Light Sleeper , turns out Paul Schrader directed them both and I reckon he used the same moody 90s synth soundtrack too.

Solid 7 out of 10

sinbaadi

Scoop, Netflix 2024

Gillian Anderson is quite magnificent, and absolutely nails her portrayal.  Rufus Sewell does brilliantly in what can't have been an easy gig.  Basically you forget you're not watching the actual interview until it cuts to the deluded smiles of the royal advisors who think it's all going really well.  

Brilliant. 

9/10

SteveRobinson

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) Disney+

Black comedy set in a small community on an island off the coast of Ireland during the Irish Civil War concerning the friction between some of the inhabitants.

Worth watching for Barry Keoghan's performance which is superb.

goldtop

SteveRobinson said:

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) Disney+

Black comedy set in a small community on an island off the coast of Ireland during the Irish Civil War concerning the friction between some of the inhabitants.

Worth watching for Barry Keoghan's performance which is superb.

Agreed. In a very similar vein, I watched Calvary (Sky/NowTV) - billed as a black comedy, but ... it's really dark. Brendan Gleeson is excellent and the writing and characters are great. 9/10

Keiko

Baghead. 7/10. This has poor reviews, but I found it very watchable and not bad at all for a horror film. Not very scary, and plot is all over the place, but I've given it extra points for the ending just because it's something a bit different.  

BigBearKris

Keiko said:

Baghead. 7/10. This has poor reviews, but I found it very watchable and not bad at all for a horror film. Not very scary, and plot is all over the place, but I've given it extra points for the ending just because it's something a bit different.  

I was thinking about watching it but decided against after seeing some reviews. Not sure why as they rarely agree with me personal opinion but good to read that you enjoyed it. I'll give it a go.

Offset

Offset said:

Philly_Q said:

You'll Never Find Me (Shudder)

At 2.00 am with a thunderstorm raging outside, a middle-aged man sitting alone in his trailer is disturbed by a knock at his door... it's a bedraggled young woman in need of a lift or at very least a phone.  The man explains that his car is out of order and the only phone is a payphone some distance away.  So the two settle down in the cramped confines of the trailer, waiting for the storm to ease.

This is tense, atmospheric and very well made.  Whether or not it absolutely "works" will, I think, depend on the personal feelings of the viewer, but it's certainly an impressive effort by the first-time writer/directors.

Added to my watchlist, ta Phil.

Watched it last night.  Disturbing and claustrophobic; really enjoyed it.

6.5/10. 

Offset

The Gates (Prime), 2023

Horror set in Victorian London.  Before going to the electric chair, a serial killer places a curse on the jail in which he resides and everyone else in it.  Enter two post mortem photographers who fancy themselves as psychic investigators, and a medium.  Surprise surprise - said serial killer (Richard Brake, excellent) isn't quite as dead as everyone first believed.

The film also stars John Rhys-Davies, who puts in his usual good performance despite the paucity of the material with which he has to work (a feature of most of his recent output I'm afraid).  This film is a mish-mash of influences, intentional or otherwise.  There's a bit of Evil Dead; a soupcon of Hammer (especially The Asphyx); a whiff of Prince Of Darkness in a couple of scenes; and any number of devil-in-a-jail movies I've seen and promptly forgotten.

Aside from the two aforementioned leads I'm afraid that the rest of the acting is really poor, and the some of the mockney accents drove me to distraction.  Unfortunately the dialogue is pretty crap as well and the ending is entirely predictable.

However, despite all of this I quite enjoyed it.  It's well shot, atmospheric, fairly creepy and there's an unsettling undercurrent to it.

5/10.

Shrews

Apollo 13 (Prime)

It's a while since I've seen it and whilst it's 'Tom Hanks Solid' the fact that it's based on a true story makes it compelling to watch in it's own right. I think they get the balance right between the complex technical stuff, tugging on the heartstrings and making it dramatic enough to keep the interest alive.  A good job from start to finish.

With regards to what actually happened, surely it's right up their with the greatest teamwork achievement of all time?

Everyone of the cast plays a blinder. 

9/10