What films have you watched recently?

axisus

Philly_Q said:

Dream Scenario (Amazon Prime)

Paul Matthews, a rather nerdy and unassuming professor of evolutionary biology at a small university, is surprised when friends, colleagues and complete strangers start telling him that he has appeared in their dreams.  He becomes something of a celebrity and sees it as an opportunity to secure an academic publishing deal.  But when the dreams take a darker turn Paul finds people suddenly turning against him...

Well, this is a strange film.  It stars Nicolas Cage in low-key mode, and very good he is too.  It starts as surreal comedy but gradually evolves into a much more serious satire on the nature of celebrity and cancel culture.  Not quite what I was expecting to see, but certainly thought-provoking.

Well, I watched it. I didn't enjoy it, I found it a very uncomfortable watch from about 30 mins in. I don't like uncomfortable situations, and the 'dinner party' I just had to fast forward through. It got very dark and unpleasant from then on. I found it excruciating. I wanted to stop watching but I also wanted to see the end, then just as it felt too much suddenly the whole vibe changed, and it was watchable to the end. Strange end. It's not a film I could recommend, but I will say that I thought Nic Cage was very good. Plus hat's off to anyone whose happy to make themselves look so terrible! (major balding with too much hair on the sides, kind of 70s style).  For enjoyment, 2/10. I'm not sure how to actually judge it as a film. Too basically unpleasant for me.

Philly_Q

Interesting.  I can see where you're coming from, I know a couple of people who can't watch anything - particularly comedy - which is based on awkward or embarrassing situations.  And it verges on horror a couple of times, which I know isn't your thing.  For me, there are a few uncomfortable moments but I mostly felt sad, about the way his life goes without him being able to control it in any way.

breakstuff

axisus said:

Philly_Q said:

Dream Scenario (Amazon Prime)

Paul Matthews, a rather nerdy and unassuming professor of evolutionary biology at a small university, is surprised when friends, colleagues and complete strangers start telling him that he has appeared in their dreams.  He becomes something of a celebrity and sees it as an opportunity to secure an academic publishing deal.  But when the dreams take a darker turn Paul finds people suddenly turning against him...

Well, this is a strange film.  It stars Nicolas Cage in low-key mode, and very good he is too.  It starts as surreal comedy but gradually evolves into a much more serious satire on the nature of celebrity and cancel culture.  Not quite what I was expecting to see, but certainly thought-provoking.

Well, I watched it. I didn't enjoy it, I found it a very uncomfortable watch from about 30 mins in. I don't like uncomfortable situations, and the 'dinner party' I just had to fast forward through. It got very dark and unpleasant from then on. I found it excruciating. I wanted to stop watching but I also wanted to see the end, then just as it felt too much suddenly the whole vibe changed, and it was watchable to the end. Strange end. It's not a film I could recommend, but I will say that I thought Nic Cage was very good. Plus hat's off to anyone whose happy to make themselves look so terrible! (major balding with too much hair on the sides, kind of 70s style).  For enjoyment, 2/10. I'm not sure how to actually judge it as a film. Too basically unpleasant for me.

Based on that you'll definitely not enjoy The Coffee Table, the blackest of black comedies. I really enjoyed it, but then I've got a quite dark sense of humour. 

axisus

Philly_Q said:

Interesting.  I can see where you're coming from, I know a couple of people who can't watch anything - particularly comedy - which is based on awkward or embarrassing situations.  And it verges on horror a couple of times, which I know isn't your thing.  For me, there are a few uncomfortable moments but I mostly felt sad, about the way his life goes without him being able to control it in ant way.

Yes, one thing I didn't like was that ....

he never got his life back. His daughters were still meh about him, his wife kicked him out, his book got edited shorter without his knowledge, his signing tour downgraded. Why did the light fall and hit him!?!?! What was the point of that in the context of the film? I'd have liked to see a much happier ending for the guy. 

Oh yeah - Adverts in your dreams - scary thought!

Philly_Q

I think the point of all that was...

...that once you've been "cancelled" there's never really a way back, even if you've been exonerated and nothing was your fault.  It hangs around you like a bad smell.  People remember, even if what they remember is wrong, or a twisted version of the truth.  His old life had fallen apart and nobody involved could act like nothing had happened. 

As for the light hitting him in the head, I don't think there was any significance other than it showing what a grotty basement he'd been shunted off to for his book signing.  If there was a further symbolic meaning it's passed me by. 

Yes, let's hope adverts in dreams doesn't become a thing in our lifetimes...

racefaceec90

the autopsy of jane doe

a horror film with Brian cox as a coroner who with his son has to try to find out what happened to the body of an unknown female.

i thought the film was really good and definitely didn't expect the way the plot went. Brian cox as always is great in it.

9/10

Lodious

Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a loner who falls into videoing car crashes, shootings etc for news channels. Gyllenhaal is really good in this, the music is great and it moves at a good pace. 8/10 for me. 

Lodious

strumjoughlamps said:

The Friend (2024) - When a solitary writer adopts and bonds with a Great Dane that belonged to a late friend, she begins to come to terms with her past and her own creative inner life.

6.5/10 well worth a watch solid acting from Naomi Watts who is still au natural and awesome.

Watched this last night...I thought it was really good. Quite a slow pace, but Naomi Watts played it brilliantly.

Barquentine

The Duke. Available on iPlayer. Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. True story. Absolutely brilliant. Funny and heart-warming without being the slightest bit twee. 10/10

Pjon

Sinners - Sky Cinema

I wouldn’t have been surprised if this had been based on a fairly unsophisticated graphic novel, but no, it appears that it was written as a film, using as many cliches as is possible to force into a couple of hours. 

I enjoyed the first hour, the setting up of the juke joint, even if it was a basic ‘get the band back together’ plot. (Hero shoots a man in the knees to prove he’s a good guy?)  The vampire section was utter drivel. (Garlic! Stakes! Invite across the threshold! Sunlight! They forgot about bats but the vampires could fly! ) It even included a bit of Marvel style chop-dicky martial combat.  The KKK coda was yet another 30s cliche rammed in. The Buddy Guy postscript sort of made the film worthwhile. The music is a Hollywood dumbed down version of blues and Irish folk. (I think that’s what it was meant to be?) 

It’s just another comic book film that looks pretty but has no soul, like the vampires, but allows for sequels and prequels.

Stratavarious

Queen’s Gambit

Third binge of it…. Still outstanding..

Philly_Q

Pjon said:

Sinners - Sky Cinema

I wouldn’t have been surprised if this had been based on a fairly unsophisticated graphic novel, but no, it appears that it was written as a film, using as many cliches as is possible to force into a couple of hours. 

I enjoyed the first hour, the setting up of the juke joint, even if it was a basic ‘get the band back together’ plot. (Hero shoots a man in the knees to prove he’s a good guy?)  The vampire section was utter drivel. (Garlic! Stakes! Invite across the threshold! Sunlight! They forgot about bats but the vampires could fly! ) It even included a bit of Marvel style chop-dicky martial combat.  The KKK coda was yet another 30s cliche rammed in. The Buddy Guy postscript sort of made the film worthwhile. The music is a Hollywood dumbed down version of blues and Irish folk. (I think that’s what it was meant to be?) 

It’s just another comic book film that looks pretty but has no soul, like the vampires, but allows for sequels and prequels.

I agree (although I didn't particularly enjoy the first hour or the Buddy Guy bit), and yet it's received a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations!  I feel like everyone else must be seeing something that eludes me.

Col_Decker

Another Sinners meh here. Great cinematography and music, but the plot? An hour of business planning and estate agents. Followed by an hour of Dusk Till Dawn comparisons.

we rented it for Halloween and we’re all disappointed by it. 

Ozzie744

racefaceec90 said:

the autopsy of jane doe

a horror film with Brian cox as a coroner who with his son has to try to find out what happened to the body of an unknown female.

i thought the film was really good and definitely didn't expect the way the plot went. Brian cox as always is great in it.

9/10

Yes, this was an excellent film. Watched it twice. Agree with your rating 9/10.

Ozzie744

I was greatly disappointed in Sinners. Very clichéd and slow to develop. 

Chuffola

Stratavarious said:

Queen’s Gambit

Third binge of it…. Still outstanding..

TV show though. But I agree, excellent!

rze99

Ozzie744 said:

racefaceec90 said:

the autopsy of jane doe

a horror film with Brian cox as a coroner who with his son has to try to find out what happened to the body of an unknown female.

i thought the film was really good and definitely didn't expect the way the plot went. Brian cox as always is great in it.

9/10

Yes, this was an excellent film. Watched it twice. Agree with your rating 9/10.

Thanks.. on the list 

axisus

I felt like something lighthearted yesterday evening, so went for that old classic Star Trek IV: The voyage home. It is an absolute delight of a film, the script is so good, particularly all those scenes on '80s Earth' (so most of the film). They crammed it full of so many little jokes and amusing moments, but kept it on track rather than accidentally falling into parody. This is probably my favourite Star Trek thing out of everything they have done over the decades. Yes, some bits are a tad silly in the real world, but you just have to go with the flow. The story is actually an excellent basic idea, and I think that the mystery spaceship that turns up at the start looks fantastic - very basic, very alien. All the main cast are good, I've always loved DeForest Kelly as Bones - short fuse, shockingly unempathetic for a doctor, and yet ultimately good at his job.

I have seen this film about 6 times over the years, and I still found myself laughing out loud at a few points. The other thing that hit me - I remember seeing this at the cinema, and back then big films were 'events'. You would sit in the cinema waiting in anticipation and it felt like a really big thing. I feel that somehow that has been lost over the years. I still like going to the cinema, but it has lost something. Maybe it's my age?

Anyway, for me it's an 8.5/10 film. I will watch it again in about 5 years time and still love it. 

Haych

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller is Walter Mitty, a negative asset handler at Life magazine for the last 16 years. 

He’s never been anywhere or done anything and he frequently zones out and daydreams about doing adventurous and daring things, to break the monotony of his day. 

He has a crush on Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) at work but can’t seem to connect or find the courage to ask her out. 

When the magazine is bought and closed he is asked for the photograph for the final cover, only he can’t find the negative and so must go on a real adventure to find the photographer who took it, to ask him where it is. 

This is one of my favourite films. It has everything. A good story, great acting, great characters and brilliant photography. It is the ultimate action-adventure-romcom-feelgood-drama!

10/10

mgaw

And yet Sinners is up for no less than 16 Oscars , not that I was ever that interested in that gong shoe but jeez wtf is that all about