Hadn't seen Grease since I was a kid. Watching it again was such a treat ... from the moment that title track kicked in over the animated opening creds to the final number. Travolta and Newton-John are on fine form (JT had a massive crush on ON-J). The songs are great, the vibe is infectious ... it's a perfect slice of feel-good escapism. Probably won't be seeking out the sequel any time soon.
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Split Second (1992) - A decent sci-fi action horror romp with Rutger Hauer. By 'decent' I mean complete and utter garbage that was completely and utterly compelling from start to finish.
War of the Worlds (1953) - Always a great watch. The hatch unscrewing, the ash bodies on the ground. Chills.Comment
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I love War of the Worlds as something that constantly gets reinvented.
They don't always get it right, but it's seeing it interpreted.
I've read the book, listened the audiobook and the audio adaptation (really cool as it sounds like tripods are walking over you!), the 50's film, the Cruise film and the 90s TV show. I've heard the Wayne album but not seen the stage adaptation of it. I'd like to do the immersive experience.
EDIT: I saw the first series of the recent one where they mainly sent DARPA dogs to eliminate humanity.
I've not heard the Welles radio play.
The 50s version has ingrained that sound of the ships firing up their heat rays into my brain.Last edited by QualityChimp; 11-04-2025, 08:10.Comment
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Great to hear there's finally going to be an Oscar/Academy Award for stunts at the 100th Academy Awards in 2028.
I'm guessing they've delayed it until 2028 so they can't give it to Tom Cruise in a Mission:Impossible.
"Achievement in Stunt Design" is something they've been lacking for decades. It's cool that "Hair Design" gets one, but it's insane stunts have been ignored.
Looking at the 2024 Taurus Awards, it looks like Extraction 2 did pretty well, alongside John Wick 4 and Heart of Stone.
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That's awesome they're finally adding a stunt award. A massive omission for years just like you say.
Shame it's not for a while but really interesting the point they make that it's for 'stunt design' because stunts are very collaborative. That makes a lot of sense to me. It would be a bit silly if it was awarded solely to the person who actually executed the stunt(s).Comment
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As much as I think that David Leitch's Gosling/Blunt reworking of The Fall Guy fell short on several levels, I always respected that, at its core, he was using it to pay public tribute to stuntmen and stuntwomen everywhere.Originally posted by QualityChimp View PostGreat to hear there's finally going to be an Oscar/Academy Award for stunts at the 100th Academy Awards in 2028.
I'm guessing they've delayed it until 2028 so they can't give it to Tom Cruise in a Mission:Impossible.
"Achievement in Stunt Design" is something they've been lacking for decades. It's cool that "Hair Design" gets one, but it's insane stunts have been ignored.
Major cinematic award recognition long overdue. Let's hope the BAFTAs and other film award bodies follow suit.
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What are some of your favourite stunts, gang?Comment
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Anything done by Jackie Chan and his stunt team during the 1980s HK action movie golden age.Originally posted by QualityChimp View Post
Hard to understate how much they changed the action movie genre game with what they were doing.Comment
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3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold, 2007)
Watched this last night.
A decently-made western action/thriller by modern standards, but I feel like I wanted to like it more than I ended up doing.
Christian Bale (restrained/frustrated hero) and Russell Crowe (villain trying a little too hard to be charismatic at times) play off each other well in the lead roles for the most part (with the rest of the cast serviceable at best), but the action/thriller parts didn't quite come off for me and ultimately didn't deliver on the tension that it obviously tries to engineer at various points in the story. On top of that, the last part and ending is quite ridiculous even when allowing for disbelief-suspension.Comment
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Speed
Now more widely introducing our eldest kids to the world of action cinema, this went down very wellComment
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The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1980)
Had to get this in for Good Friday! Not hard to see how it has influenced the majority of British gangster/crime films that followed it. A fascinating snapshot of London during that transition period between the end of the 1970s and start of the 1980s with the aesthetic to match.
Mainly powered by a menacing and snarling lead performance from the late Bob Hoskins and an excellent musical score composed by the late Francis Monkman. Couldn't help but sigh at the end when the main character talks about ditching US allegiances for European support...I wonder if there's anything in that that could be related to today's current domestic and/or global politics??
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Saint Omer (Alice Diop, 2022)
Watched this last night. Arguably one of the most important pieces of French film in recent years for the unvarnished and unerring spotlight that it shines on how France views its multiculturalism and it relationship with those who come from the former colonies, especially African women.
Using a fictional adaptation of the 2016 real-life child murder trial of Fabienne Kabou to communicate all of this is as inspired as it is tense and uncomfortable, with the leads Kayije Kagame and Guslangie Malanda (especially the latter) delivering powerful performances.
Sinners (Ryan Coogler, 2025)
Watched this at the cinema earlier today. Worth the hype for the most part, though arguably not as ultimately deep as it leads you to think it will be during the first half of the story and that's okay - the effort to introduce the main characters and get the viewer to invest in them is commendable. The story pivots into a good old-fashioned (albeit a tad basic) and fun horror flick in the second half. The 1930s deep south styling (both in look and sound) is on-point throughout and there is a stunning moment of cinematography halfway through the story that's really impressive. Michael B. Jordan clearly having fun playing two sides of the same coin and it shows.
Last edited by Nu-Eclipse; 21-04-2025, 16:43.Comment
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The Minecraft Movie
The plot is beyond bobbins, but anyone coming to a Minecraft movie fopr plot is setting themselves up for an obvious disappointment. My expectations were crater low, it was something the kids had been pushing to see, but it actually surprised us with being decent fun. It's not amazing but it's essentially treated like a comedy, hitting with very frequent silliness and brevity that does a lot to lift the film and make it much more fun than it has any right to be.Comment
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