The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[Atticus]

Continuing with the traditional festive selections I watched Nil By Mouth last night. It's been a long time since I saw this (it was on a writing course over 20 years ago) and it has lost nothing. Still don't think I've seen anything as authentic and real. And scary. It's like Gary Oldman had one film in him he had to make (a very personal project) and it's one that would surely be impossible to top. All the performances are incredible but Kathy Burke and Ray Winstone really deliver something brilliant. Like once in a career brilliant. The point of the film, the reason it's called what it is, is hugely affecting and sad. Not all films are made to make you feel good or entertained even. This takes you into a living hell of violence and drinking and abuse and the cyclic nature of it all. Not a happy place but hugely compelling. Gary Oldman said in a recent interview on Kermode and Mayo (for the 25th anniversary release of NBM) that he's still paying for the film. It still hasn't made any profit. Amazing. New blu-ray by the BFi is brilliant with a remastered version of the film, a second disc full of special features and a nice thick booklet too.

[Neon Ignition]

Die Hard
I mean, of course, it's Xmas.

[QualityChimp]

Watched Barbarian on Disney+ last night. It's a horror full of 'noooooo, don't to that for goodness sake!' moments but it's a fun ride. A young woman arrives at her airbnb rental in Detroit on a stormy night and there's already a guy staying there, double-booked. And it goes from there ...

I watched Barbarian with a couple of mates last night and we had a blast.
I'd concur with "The less you know, the better."
Atticus' synopsis is all you need to know.

Spoiler comments for those who have seen it, with thoughts on the film's title:

->Open Spoiler<-

I think it pertains to men, and more specifically, toxic masculinity.
You see three different men in the film and each of them has their own take on toxic masculinity, from the overconfident co-tenant, to the rapist producer to the kidnapper. Each acting like Barbarians, taking what they want and usually from a woman.

It could also pertain to the street's residents as it was called Barbary Street.

Ultimately, it was originally just a placeholder title, but fits both the theme of toxic masculinity, but also doesn't fit at all, so is a good smokescreen for the plot, rather than calling it "Inbred monsters that live in a secret dungeon."

I was also really impressed with the use of tropes and also flipping them around (don't read if you haven't seen it!):

->Open Spoiler<-

The start was riddled with horror clichés like people walking into sinister-looking darkened underground passages, but that's what made the later sections so funny.
If we'd have seen Justin Long's character mooching around the cellar at the start, I don't think seeing it later with the woman would have been so scary. Conversely, after having such a tense introduction to the cellar, I don't think Long, rattling around with his tape measure would have been as funny.
There are still some clichés in there, though, like the scary-not-really hobo and the inbred mutant having superstrength, despite living in a dungeon with no sunlight and no gymnasium, but it still manages to be a lot of fun.

Recommended!

[QualityChimp]

Die Hard
I mean, of course, it's Xmas.

I was watching "The Movies That Made Us" about Die Hard on Netflix and the wife started watching it too.
She proclaims after a while "I don't think I've ever seen Die Hard all the way through, just snippets when it's on."

Well, we're now halfway through it.
I had to stop to go see Barbarian, but we should finish it tonight and it's always such a joy to watch.

One thing I'd never noticed is that they wrote in the ambulance escape plan halfway through shooting the film.
They hadn't worked out how they'd escape until later on.
The idea was re-used by Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza from an old TV show pilot he wrote, The Spirit, where the baddie plants a bomb in a children's hospital and she plans to escape the confusion in an ambulance.

However, if you look carefully, as the terrorists leave the removal truck they've hidden in, there is no ambulance.

One thing this impacted is that they cut a sequence straight after where (with the empty truck behind them) they stand in a circle and synchronise their watches, fancy Tag Heuer ones. Later on, there's a laugh as McClane spots the expensive Tag, but he's actually just after some cigarettes and when chatting to Al about why he thinks they're organised he says "I think these guys are professionals. Their IDs are too good. There's no labels on their clothes and they all have the same watch."

Now that you know, pay attention to the scene between McClane and Gruber again.
"When Bruce offers the cigarette to Alan Rickman, Bruce sees the watch," de Souza said. "You see his eyes look at the watch. That's how he knows that he is one of the terrorists."

[Neon Ignition]

Rear Window
Enjoyed it, as much as it's pretty much just watching James Stewart sit at a window for 2hrs it remains entertaining. The resolution of the film isn't the greatest, it's a bit overly convenient, but overall decent.

[Finsbury Girl]

I love Rear Window!

Watched The Northman - I quite liked it, Alexnader Skarsgard is an absolute beast , loved the bit where he got the sword it was so Conan. It wasn't as violent as I was led to believe, I wanted more viking action to be honest. Willem Dafoe in a wild small cameo was an added bonus.

[Atticus]

Rear Window is a top 5 all time fave for me.

Great observations on Barbarian [MENTION=10111]QualityChimp[/MENTION] ... I hadn't clocked those themes but they make perfect sense.

I watched A Bunch of Amateurs at the weekend on the BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...ch-of-amateurs It's a feature length doc about Bradford's long running (est in the 30s) amateur film makers club. It's both funny and heart-warming ... a group of misfits who have each-other and a shared passion. The contrast between the club's heyday and what it is today represents so many other things that have lost relevance and popularity over the years.



And we had some family film fun with Ambulance. It's an inch deep and an inch wide. Bayhem to the max. We enjoyed it for what it was

[wakka]

Rear Window is a GOAT.

Atticus, an inch deep and an inch wide great description. I do want to watch Ambulance myself.

I can't remember if we have discussed this before, but have you seen American Movie? The above film you watched reminds me a little of it.

[Atticus]

have you seen American Movie? The above film you watched reminds me a little of it.

I haven't, no. Just had a quick look-up online ... I'll watch out for it, cheers

[wakka]

Yeah it's really worth a watch. It's a documentary about a couple of oddballs in the Midwest who set out to make their own horror film. It's funny and fascinating.

Unfortunately the film is very hard to find today as it hasn't ever been reissued much or put it on streaming. I will pop you a PM.

[QualityChimp]

And we had some family film fun with Ambulance. It's an inch deep and an inch wide. Bayhem to the max. We enjoyed it for what it was

As a drone fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how he's implemented them into the film.

[Atticus]

As a drone fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how he's implemented them into the film.

I didn't know about it at all ... it is impressive in places, for sure.

[QualityChimp]

I suspect he found a toy that looks good but decided to overuse it.
I'll find out eventually!

[Finsbury Girl]

6 Underground - wow that car chase at the beginning was FAR too long ; it was just boring in the end. The rest of the movie was ok. Some good one liners and some interesting action scenes. I can understand why there is no sequel overall very average.

[louzayong]

I saw the woman king, difficult not to appreciate this generous film and its power of entertainment. It is certainly far from perfect but does not have any major flaws preventing you from fully appreciating it and traveling for a good two hours.