Cinemexperience: part deux., Some more filums you saw. Options

[Ade]

Thor (2011)

Ruddy marvellous fun.



The A-Team (2010)

Hannibal says "Plan".

Somewhat too often.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed.

[Serafina_Pekkala]

The Skin I Live In

Very strange indeed but compelling. I am still processing the whole thing as I am not sure if I enjoyed it per se. Banderas is much better speaking Spanish on screen. Not as disturbing as Dogtooth but pretty close.

This post has been edited by Serafina_Pekkala: Mar 20 2012, 12:22 AM

[Rebus]

Kung Fu Hustle

Just balls to the walls awesome, I remember someone telling me to avoid it because it was 'too silly'. I need to find them so I can slap them.

[maian]

La Grande Illusion

Jean Renoir's humanist tale of WWI soldiers who transcend the class and national distinctions that divide them. Very moving and beautiful to look at - the newly restored print is just gorgeous - but very, very slow. I was never bored, but it felt like it was twice as long as it actually was.

21 Jump Streets

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun. Chris Miller and Phil Lord bring the same quick, anarchic energy that they did to Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and, whilst it isn't as relentlessly hilarious as that film, it does manage to deliver a lot of very solid laughs. It's a little baggy, with the action sequences only occasionally being genuinely funny, and the last half hour goes on a bit, but for the most part it is incredibly solid and very funny. Who knew Channing Tatum was such a decent comic presence? Or remotely good at anything?

[Serafina_Pekkala]

Attack the Block

The action was fine and some decent enough plot silliness like a Doctor Who episode. Cornish has a good eye for sequences. But the characters got on my tits entirely. Not as bad as Noel fucking Clarke but close. I didn't care for any of them. Worst of all were the occasional 'tings is bad like' dialogue clunky moments stuck in there as if to comment on Broken Britain amid a story about dog chimps from space in Brixton. It seemed more shoehorned in than a James Bond title. I notice there seems to be a real polarisation as lots of people I know who aren't from London who are far less taken with it. So In summary - Dr Sexy can direct but his material does not translate to a lot of us.

[logger]

The Thing From Another Planet

A film about Julie.

I liked the bit with the fire, I'd be surprised if people didn't really get hurt.

[mcraigclark]

The Thing From Another Planet

A film about Julie.

Ha!

[Julie]

Ha!

Lines are being drawn here, Clark. You sure that's the side you want to be on?

[mcraigclark]

It was funny! I like how this is infiltrating other threads.

[logger]

See, she's a liar and a bully. Team Logger for the win!

[maian]

Extreme Prejudice

Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Rip Torn and Clancy Brown star in a film about manly men growling at each other. Oh, and they're marines, or something. A good, stripped down pseudo-Western with a typically sparse script by Walter Hill.

Down Terrace

There's low-budget, then there's Down Terrace, a British crime thriller directed by Ben Wheatley (who also directed the excellent Kill List) which takes place largely in one house and tells the story of a crime family who start to suspect that one of their associates has been informing the police about their actions. It's more of a series of vignettes than a proper film, no doubt the result of being shot for next to nothing over just 8 days, but those vignettes are by turns darkly funny and weirdly menacing, and the film really picks up in its last act. An impressive debut.

Das Boot

I'd never seen it before and I thought it was great. Completely compelling for all of its three hours and twenty minutes, it creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that is pretty relentless, and it takes the time to make its characters interesting and distinct. I wish Wolfgang Peterson could make another film this good.

The Hunger Games

I really liked it, but I felt that it was perhaps too faithful to the book to work as a film in its own right (though I do know some people who loved it who haven't read the book, so what do I know?) It tries to establish the world for the sequels, which is does efficiently but at the expense of the characters and relationships, which are not developed enough. Jennifer Lawrence and Woody Harrelson are both very good, and I think that if the film works at all its because they provide in their performances what is lacking in the storytelling.

[Julie]

It was funny!

See, she's a liar and a bully. Team Logger for the win!

I see how it is. You and Craig are gonna be all alone over there on team Logger. I hope you enjoy each other's company.

[Rebus]

Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India.

Apart from the fact one of the most epic Indian films is effectively called "Land Tax", this is a stunning work of film. Never has cricket been so dramatic, and with fantastic songs and brilliant performances from almost all involved, this was a sumptuous film. Watch it if you have nothing to do for three and a half hours, you won't regret it.

[Rebus]

Oh, and Hunger Games.

The missus dragged me along in a come-meet-some-friends kind of social gathering type-thing. Dear lord. Just awful. While waiting for her to get ready I'd skimmed through a bit of the book, and they certainly faithfully adapted the terrible writing, if not what looked to be some decent violence. I didn't feel I was given enough time to give a shit about a character by the time they were eviscerated (largely, just off screen). With such an impressive cast gone to waste (Toby Jones looking like he was in a pantomime ffs!), and such an over-abundance of stylish-looking but substance-less bollocks, it was an uncomfortable two and a half hours. I'll stick with Battle Royale as my generation's teens-eviscerating-eachother-in-a-totalitarian-state movie, it's perfect.

It is interesting to note however, that comparing Hunger Games and John Carter gives us the perfect example of the very important job marketing departments have when promoting a film. I haven't seen a shit film so over-hyped since, well, the Twilight(s), and it pulls in the third biggest EVER box office take on its opening. John Carter, which is infinitely better, beautiful even, will lose Disney $200m. It's all PR's fault, for catering to the kids, changing the title, watering down the trailers, and trying to even think of comparing it to Wrath of Titans and all the other sandal-epic crap around at the moment.

</rant>

EDIT: Oh, but there is an upside, surely with the release of Hunger Games, plans to remake Battle Royale must have been shelved. Surely. Praise baby cheeses.

This post has been edited by Rebus: Mar 26 2012, 07:30 PM

[maian]

The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

Holy living fuck. I loved it.