The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[Atticus]

Watched three films yesterday. I was up early so watched Red River while everyone was still asleep. I've not seen a huge amount of John Wayne films but I liked him in this. He was believably tough and stubborn. And the 1000-mile cattle drive the film is set around takes in some stunning scenery along the way. Very enjoyable. Then last night I started with Tremors. This was a nice 4k upgrade from the video I last watched it on. It has a sweet, timeless quality. Proper feel-good monster mashing buddy movie. Then in the late slot (where else?) was Basic Instinct. This feels like it gets better and better with age. It's always so enjoyable to go back to. If you're a Hitchcock or De Palma fan then this is essential to revisit. The new extras are a good watch too, with a new hour long doc filmed in 2020 featuring all the major players in front (jeez, Michael Douglas loves himself a bit) of and behind the camera. Impressive.

[prinnysquad]

You filthy hound.

Late night spaffage at Fort Atticus.

[Atticus]

[fallenangle]

Aliens for me is the benchmark against which all other sci-fi action films should be judged. It borrows from other film genres: war, westerns. survival horror, crime etc but does more than just paste it together with action scenes. Its intelligent story telling with well written characters, imaginative filming techniques and special effects that hold up even now.

Thirty-five years old and it set a template that is still rarely equaled.

Watched The Girl In the Spider's Web last night, not seen it before. Some big plot holes, silliness and TBH is a rather by the numbers Nordic action/crime thing. Well below the standard set by some of the others of this type.

But it managed to entertain me just enough to keep watching right to the end.

[Dogg Thang]

I watched Glass at the weekend. I'd heard it was pretty bad and, well, yeah it's not a good movie. The Sarah Paulson character was really hard to buy and yet she dominated the movie. Her goal really drove most of the movie and I just didn't buy it so I was waiting for the characters to actually do their thing. So the driving force was weak. Nevertheless, I still quite enjoyed it. Much more than I thought I would. Every time I drifted off, I found myself pulled back in. Hard to ignore McAvoy's performance. So yeah, I actually enjoyed it.

[QualityChimp]

I watched Promising Young Woman (via NowTV) last night and it was a tough watch, but enthralling.

Some really interesting shots and I loved how they framed Cassie (Carey Mulligan) in several shots and how the whole thing has these bright, oversaturated colours. Also has a really fitting score where it's incongruously bouncy at times, then sinister strings at others.
Mulligan is brilliant in this.

An important message too in that you don't have to be the actual rapist to be complicit in their act and victim-blaming is not acceptable.

[Neon Ignition]

Sorority Row
A very weak tier knock off of I Know What You Did which has little to no spin on the idea, just weaker acting and execution.

[Asura]

I watched The Meg. It’s got a big shark in it.

Honestly I ****ing loved this. I went to see it one day because, due to a boring series of events, I ended up stuck at Reading train station for 4 hours and the cinema was nearby, so I went and this was the only movie about to start. I ended up loving it, as it was exactly what I needed.

[Asura]

Interesting. I was reading on the Wikipedia page that Cruise was also in the running

This is a minor film gripe I have, how every IMDB trivia page for every movie lists every male actor even remotely suitable for every role as a "was considered for..."

Part of me feels that this should be limited only to people who actually got involved in production in some way, like Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. That might be the case in this example Wakka, I don't know.

[QualityChimp]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. (via Netflix)

Used to be a time where I'd rush to the cinema to see the latest QT film, but the last half of his output, I've waited ages to see.

Had a chance to see this on NowTV and still didn't bother, but the wife saw it was on Netflix and asked if I wanted to see it, which she doesn't usually do, so went for it.

It was on for a while before I realised it's less of a focused story and more a general experience around the lives of the two lead characters. After that, I just went with it, soaking up the recreated atmosphere of yesterday Hollywood.

I enjoyed it for that and got invested in the characters, but it felt like if it stayed on one storyline for too long, it moved on.

[Dogg Thang]

Honestly I ****ing loved this. I went to see it one day because, due to a boring series of events, I ended up stuck at Reading train station for 4 hours and the cinema was nearby, so I went and this was the only movie about to start. I ended up loving it, as it was exactly what I needed.

It's a fun movie. It's okay for film to just be fun sometimes.

[wakka]

This is a minor film gripe I have, how every IMDB trivia page for every movie lists every male actor even remotely suitable for every role as a "was considered for..."

Part of me feels that this should be limited only to people who actually got involved in production in some way, like Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. That might be the case in this example Wakka, I don't know.

Your problem there is you're reading IMDB trivia pages.

They're always filled with pretty boring info in my experience.

That said, I don't mind reading about the inside baseball on films. It can be interesting. I listen to a podcast called The Greatest Movies Never Made which is full of this sort of stuff.

[fuse]

Have had a vague interest in watching Uncut Gems for ages, but for some reason it was put forward as a suggestion during one of those painful "scroll through everything in Netflix" sessions, so no questions were asked, and on it went. I liked it a lot; the density of the cross-talking, the intensity of the performances, and the layering of the schemes all built the tension wonderfully and kept it totally engrossing, and Sandler is fantastic as the unpleasant, scheming, desperate lead that you still can't keep your eyes off.

Also went into The Lovebirds with no prior knowledge or expectations. It's a rom-com come crime caper that seems quite happy leading you through a daft story full of holes purely to set up the two leads (Kumail Nanjiani & Issa Rae) to make jokes and sell you on their chemistry - which is decently convincing. While not great, it could've been a lot worse, did get some laughs, and is a nice, breezy sub-90-minute watch.

[wakka]

I love Uncut Gems. Such a brilliant film. I was fortunate enough to see it from a proper 35mm projection at the cinema. It was gorgeously grimy.

[Atticus]

I went to see Blade Runner at the cinema last night. First time I’ve seen it on the big screen. It has to have one of the most believable and absorbing film worlds ever created and it was a treat to see it all up there in glorious scale and detail.