The Films You Watched Thread V: Dead Men Watch No Movies

[teddymeow]

Anna

Luc Besson tries (and fails) to capture some of the magic that made Leon: The Professional and La Femme Nikita so amazing.

Slow, boring, unsexy.

Welsh Luke Evans doing a Russian accent but ends up sounding Irish. Irish actor Cillian Murphy doing an American accent and looking bored through the whole thing. Russian model Sasha Luss trying her best to act but coming across like an actual mannequin with no charisma.

Yeah, a big dud and not a patch on Atomic Blondie.

[prinnysquad]

Gifted

Some Chris Evans film about a bratty genius kid. It was a reasonably distracting effort for its runtime. Raised a few questions about several parenting issues. It was one of those light, barely-existing films, that aren’t crap enough to cuss, but instead suffers the ignoble fate of being utterly forgettable. I’m not really sure why it exists, but the world isn’t a worse place for it.

No wads either.

Downton Abbey
I enjoyed it, but, once again, a pointless film. It was a double episode. Nothing more, nothing less. Mark Addy and Imelda Staunton rocked up for extra castage bantz. Umbridge and McGonagall - fresh from a winning cameo in EDF5 - sparkled. For fans, a welcome dip back into that world. For everyone else, a waste of time.

No wads either.

Maleficent 2

Enjoyed this. A nice expansion of the universe, with some real spectacle. It’s paper-thin in terms of plot and impact, but it was a decent watch.

Jolie is a wad. Even though she’s unhinged. A danger bang.

[cutmymilk]

Sonic is available online in HD. What could be the source? It isnt on blu ray and cant be streaming anywhere surely?

[gordon]

Ready Or Not. Excellent dark comedy horror with a tight script and great lead.

[Neon Ignition]

Sonic is available online in HD. What could be the source? It isnt on blu ray and cant be streaming anywhere surely?

Had a search and couldn't find anything on how that could have happened. Pure guess but my best guess would be the studio must have had a digital copy ready (possibly in case of the films theatre run being cut short due to the virus or if it had bombed?) for quick release and someone got their hands on it and leaked it.



Terminator: Dark Fate
On second watch I enjoyed this but it really cemented that inconsistent tone or not I think Terminator 3 is the better sequel. Dark Fate on second viewing just keeps raising questions, it's a solid made film but stuff just doesn't seem thought out in it with so much that it doesn't cover of the set up. T3 is much more inconsistent but it is effectively the same film with one of two better action scenes, a plot with a bit more context to it and an ending that actually contributes something to the canon.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call
We thought the kids might take to this given their GB love despite having never seen the films but only the ghost scenes worked. The action spilling into the black bars was a nice touch and as expected the film suited Ambilight a lot with its bold colouring. It remains so complicated as to why this film doesn't work, it's a death by a thousand papercuts situation that you could (and many have) spend ages breaking down. The pieces are all there and yet... it just doesn't work.

[QualityChimp]

Anna

Luc Besson tries (and fails) to capture some of the magic that made Leon: The Professional and La Femme Nikita so amazing.

Slow, boring, unsexy.

Welsh Luke Evans doing a Russian accent but ends up sounding Irish. Irish actor Cillian Murphy doing an American accent and looking bored through the whole thing. Russian model Sasha Luss trying her best to act but coming across like an actual mannequin with no charisma.

Yeah, a big dud and not a patch on Atomic Blondie.

What happened to Luc Besson, man?

Leon, The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita and The Big Blue are must-see classics.
Then he went off the boil, got sued by John Carpenter for ripping off Escape from New York with Lockout, made Lucy, which is pretty boring and criminally short and worst of all, he's been accused of rape or assault by nine women.

[Atticus]

Scarface (1983) - Only seen this once before and it's fair to say I was way too young. I didn't remember it with any fondness. But with an older (and Brian De Palma obsessed) head it was a great watch. Love the Giorgio Moroder soundtrack and 80s Florida vibes. And the main players are great (esp Steven Bauer) ... it's not just the Al Pacino show. Excellent stuff. It's like an X rated feature-length ep of Miami Vice.

[QualityChimp]

On a lighter note, I saw Onward with the family at the weekend and really enjoyed it.
Interestingly, the traditional short film preceeding it was a Simpsons episode.
That Fox merger coming into effect already.

The film itself was great and I'm loving the new Pixar rule of no more sequels.
The basic premise is that in a land of magic, filled with unicorns, elves, pixies, mermaids and so on, people found technology was a much easier way of life.
Fast-forward and magic is forgotten as the magical creatures use tech in their everyday lives.
A young elf, whose father died before he was born, is given a gift from his late father on his 16th birthday.
Him and his older brother open it and they're given the opportunity to spend one more day with their father.
After a mishap casting the spell, they set about trying to get the gem that will let them complete the spell.

It's clever because it's a unique story, but backed up by tropes, so there's very little explaining to be done, just get on with the adventure.

If anything, the film reminded me a bit of Weekend at Bernie's!

Anyway, the whole family enjoyed it, despite somebody in the cinema chopping onions near me at the end.

[wakka]

Scarface (1983) - Only seen this once before and it's fair to say I was way too young. I didn't remember it with any fondness. But with an older (and Brian De Palma obsessed) head it was a great watch. Love the Giorgio Moroder soundtrack and 80s Florida vibes. And the main players are great (esp Steven Bauer) ... it's not just the Al Pacino show. Excellent stuff. It's like an X rated feature-length ep of Miami Vice.

One of my favourite films - I just love everything about it!

Surely one of the ballsiest remakes ever.

[Atticus]

Surely one of the ballsiest remakes ever.

It is. Right up there with The Thing.

[Neon Ignition]

No more Pixar sequels till those receipts start coming in! Then... Toy Story 5 releasing Summer 2026!

[Atticus]

Doctor Sleep - MILD SPOILERS - Wow, this went way above my expectations. I thought it was excellent. I'm a big fan of The Shining (film and book) and this was a welcome expansion of a world I already love. My main concern was McGregor but he was brilliant. So good as grown up Danny. And Rebecca Ferguson was even better as Rose the Hat. What a class villain.

When I first saw the trailer I thought it was going to be wall to wall Kubrick fan service, but that's not the case. There is fan service but it arrives at a relevant part of the story ... and I'd be lying if I didn't admit it was fun to return to The Overlook. But everything leading up to that was great. I was totally engrossed for the duration.

I picked up the 4K UHD release which also comes with a 30 minute longer cut on blu-ray. I opted for the theatrical cut but wish I'd have watched the director's cut instead. From what I gather it's presented in 6 chapters and plays out more like a book narrative. It won't be long before I'm watching that version I'm sure ... it left me wanting more.

This is a great film. It's not trying to be The Shining, or as good as The Shining, but it is trying to link up with it in the most respectful ways. For instance, flashbacks to Danny and Wendy are done with new actors, not cgi thankfully. Respectful of the source.

After It Chapter 2 and now Doctor Sleep it feels like I've been spoilt with a couple of cracking King adaptations Can't believe I missed both at the cinema though

[randombs]

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

It was alright, I guess.

Beat Takeshi was boring and felt so out of place. The baddie cyborg was cool and I wanted to see more of him. I haven't seen the original in years but this has motivated me to see it again, so that's good.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

It didn't hang around. Just got right in there with the zombie stuff.

The Mask

I saw a cinema job of this when it came out and I don't think I'd ever seen it properly on TV, VHS or DVD. It's very funny, especially with Jim's facial gymnastics in HD.

[QualityChimp]

That's a nice combo of films there Randombs!

[Atticus]

The Witch - I thought I'd already seen this for some reason but I hadn't, and after watching The Lighthouse I had to check out Eggers' first film. And it was class. Proper slow-burn of thick atmosphere and an ending that had me feeling elation and dread in equal measure. Amazing.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

It didn't hang around. Just got right in there with the zombie stuff.

I love this one. The part when they're shooting look-alikes is such a great idea.