Films You Have Watched

[QualityChimp]

I did the Mission: Impossible final double.

It's been really nice to watch the whole M:I film series with my son. They always seem to rotate where you can watch them, so picked up the discs for cheap in boxsets or BR on the newer ones.

We watched Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 (Blu-Ray) as I planned to get him the disc for his birthday, then watch the final film at the cinema with him.
I saw it twice at the cinema (second with him) and loved it and I probably enjoyed it even more this time. As it was starting, I was thinking which is the one with the little Fiat and the gassed security briefing and it was this one! I know it's a set up for the finale, but it doesn't scrimp on the action.

I particularly enjoy the airport sequence because once it switches to Tom and Hayley being pursued, it's filmed in the Birmingham Grand Central pretending to be Abu Dhabi!

That final section where he dirtbikes off a cliff to land on a moving train, then the whole train climb section is great.
I think the humour is really fundamental, knowing it's a little silly but rolling with it. Benji whining he's under a lot of stress as Ethan does the bike/parachute/train thing made me guffaw.

Then last night we went together to the cinema to see Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning. I'd managed to avoid ALL the trailers, just knowing that at some point Tom is on a biplane. Obviously it was McGuffintastic with cruciform keys to unlock the source code of a rogue AI and whatnot, but we're all just along for the ride.

What surprised me with the final part is how plot-heavy the first 3/4 of the film is, with lots of exposition to set up the final pieces as during the final quarter there is so much happening simultaneously.

I mean, they're not faultless films, but they've really set a real benchmark in action cinema and I've really enjoyed being along for the ride.
I particularly enjoyed that run from part 4 - Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation and Fallout, especially as there was a 5 year gap after III, so it didn't really feel necessary for another film, but It was brilliant, especially the Burj Khalifa sequence. I was ready for more.

Although ready for the series to end (end on a high), I would've welcomed a setup for a new team, which it could've done.
It now leaves a bit of a gap in action cinema as I'm not sure who could fill Tom's boots.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The Witness (James Solomon, 2015)

Just watched this a short time ago.

True-crime documentary about the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in NYC, notorious at the time for it being reported that 38 witnesses supposedly saw what actually happened to her and did nothing. The documentary follows her younger brother William five decades later as he tries to piece together what happened on the night of her murder (as well as going to other extraordinary lengths) in an effort to find closure for himself and his family once and for all.

A powerful insight into guilt, grief, media sensationalism and the devastating consequences of collective apathy when good people choose to do nothing and allow evil to happen, and that's not even mentioning the fact that I'm not even sure if I can decide whether the last 30 mins of this film are awkwardly profound or profoundly awkward...if it's mind-bending for the viewer then what must it be like for Bill Genovese?

[Brad]

The Assessment (2024)

Set in a dystopian future where couples have to pass an assessment before they are allowed to have a child. This was pretty bizarre but very enjoyable, with some great performances by Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Olsen plus a bonus Minnie Driver bit part. They didn't land the ending IMO but the journey was good.

[Neon Ignition]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
First time seeing it since the sequel landed and with time you get more and more used to the visuals which really helps highlight how well made the rest of the film is

Novocaine
The reviews were pretty spot on with this one, it's not nearly as fun as the set up could have allowed and never really gets into proper gear

[Dogg Thang]

I needed a relax night last night so I watched the new Captain America, which has just been added to Disney+. It's a whole lot of absolutely nothing.

It's not bad.

It's just... nothing.

[charlesr]

Nosferatu
Not bad given the source material and desire for nods to the original. Doubt I'd watch it again though. Felt more like a stage play, than a film.

[Dogg Thang]

I rewatched Robocop last night. That’s a movie that never fails to deliver and the television stuff feels more relevant than ever. The core of the movie is simple but so effective, and the whole world around it just elevates everything. It’s so good. But man, it’s gruesome.

[Nu-Eclipse]

A Better Tomorrow (John Woo, 1986)

Watched this last night.

I know it's something of a landmark in HK cinema and that it helped establish the "heroic bloodshed" genre that Woo went on to pioneer and then influence Hollywood action movies with, but I really struggled to get past the sheer over-the-top melodrama to the point of it actually causing me to disconnect with the story even when the similarly OTT shootout scenes and violence took place. The whole thing just came off like a badly done gangster flick-cum-soap-opera to me.

That said, Chow Yun-Fat's star power was clearly evident even at this early stage of his career and his on-screen presence is obvious because of it.

I'm going to assume that the sequels are markedly better but I'm not exactly rushing to watch them on this evidence.

[wakka]

I rewatched Robocop last night. That’s a movie that never fails to deliver and the television stuff feels more relevant than ever. The core of the movie is simple but so effective, and the whole world around it just elevates everything. It’s so good. But man, it’s gruesome.

Robocop is basically one of the best films ever imo.

Did you know the whole story is structured as a palindrome too?

When you see Kristy Noem suggesting a reality show where immigrants compete for green cards you realise Paul Verhoeven, was, as Trump would say, sadly right about everything.

The whole Verhoeven Hollywood ‘trilogy’ - Robocop, Starship Troopers, Showgirls - is genius imo. For a laugh look up contemporary reviews of them, where critics nearly always take them at face value and miss the point to an amusing extent.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The whole Verhoeven Hollywood ‘trilogy’ - Robocop, Starship Troopers, Showgirls - is genius imo. For a laugh look up contemporary reviews of them, where critics nearly always take them at face value and miss the point to an amusing extent.

You're not entirely wrong, especially where the first two are concerned...but Showgirls isn't a great film IMO (caveat: haven't watched it in years at this point).

[wakka]

Not entirely wrong?? I’m 1000% right you mean. They’re all bangers my guy!

Showgirls is the weakest of the three and a deeply deeply DEEPLY weird film, almost arthouse in its total wackiness, which I personally love but I can see why it’s divisive. Its lampooning of America’s simultaneous horniness and prudishness in such a trashy melodrama is just ****ing cool though. Also it features a great conversation about dog food and a frankly insane quantity of wobbling boobs.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Not entirely wrong?? I’m 1000% right you mean. They’re all bangers my guy!

I said what I said, brudder!

Robocop by FAR the best of the trilogy (and I include those dire TV series/films and that lame remake) to the point that it is now an outlier in the entire franchise, and I can always get with Starship Troopers. Bangers, though? Hmmm....

Yes, many miss the point of Showgirls' satire as you point out. I'd argue that Verhoeven himself was amongst those as well. The entire film is up its own arse and a lot of its content just appears to be there for the sake of it.

[wakka]

Can't deny Showgirls is up its own arse lol. It's a crazy movie. Robocop is the best of the three I agree, by quite a distance really.

I love them as a package though. It's just so funny how he went to Hollywood and got a series of massive budgets to savagely deconstruct America - apparently without anyone noticing that was what he was doing - then ****ed off back to Holland lol.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I love them as a package though. It's just so funny how he went to Hollywood and got a series of massive budgets to savagely deconstruct America - apparently without anyone noticing that was what he was doing - then ****ed off back to Holland lol.

He would hit SO ****ing hard if he were doing these in Hollywood today...and I'd totally be here for it!

[wakka]

I would absolutely love a new Paul-Deconstructs-America movie, appropriately mega budgeted and intensely high concept. That would be a seriously beautiful thing haha.