Films you've watched recently.

[cerbera45]

Saw Clint Eastwood's "Cry Macho" earlier.Late CE just gets better and better in my book.

Have you seen Gran Torino

 

[tia]

Have you seen Gran Torino

Gran Torino is fantastic

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Have you seen Gran Torino

Yeah great film.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Saw Clint Eastwood's "Cry Macho" earlier.Late CE just gets better and better in my book.

Edit .I can see why some critics might call it slow and sentimental but they'd be wrong in my book.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

John Wicks 3, I half watched it only as it was so poor despite a good cast. The first Wick film was good, the second okay, this third is weak unless about a thousand killing are your thing. Boring. 3/10

 

[TrueBlue]

The many saint's of Newark.If your a big Sopranos fan it's a good watch

Yeah I’m looking forward to see this as a huge Sopranos fan

 

[Mad Cyril]

Yeah I’m looking forward to see this as a huge Sopranos fab

Why don't you get outta here before I shove your quotation book up your *** ****** ***.

 

[Ricky Otto]

13. The Courier - 9/10
Went in with high hopes and wasn't disappointed. Surprisingly didn't know much about the story, considering I'm a Historian who loves his Cold War-era stuff, but it had me gripped. 1960s-era London and Moscow cinematography put a huge smile on my face. Felt myself at the edge of my seat and biting my fingernails as the main character's espionage work became more daring. Fantastic performance from Cumberbatch, especially towards the end where he really came into his own.

14. Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins - 6/10
Big, loud summer action movie that I didn't expect much from but ended up enjoying. It's a G.I Joe (and, in particular, Snake Eyes) origins story. I don't know much about G.I. Joe and haven't actually watched any of the other movies, so might have missed some references. It was fun with some good action, and some standard moral turmoil before the hero came good. Thought Henry Golding added some charisma to it too.

15. Candyman - 7/10
Really enjoyed this reboot/sequel. Great performance from Abdul-Mateen as his character spiralled into his tailspin. Thought it was quite a clever film really. Jordan Peele has stayed true to and respectful of the original but has really added his own undercurrent of BLM social commentary to it, and it works well despite being a bit heavy on the politics in places. Ends up being an interesting way of turning monster into anti-hero. Very stylishly-made film, which leaves a lot to the imagination by not being obvious orin-your-face with the blood and gore.

16. The Nest - 4/10
Plenty of moody atmosphere in the period setting, and it was well set-up with an early sense of foreboding......but it never really paid off for me. I suppose it's a cautionary tale in a way by showing the crumbling of a family unit, and makes good use of the shaky socio-economic picture in the UK in the mid-1980s. But felt like it missed the mark with the psychology, and I realised by halfway through that it wasn't really going anywhere.

17. Reminiscence - 2/10
I can't tell you how frustrated I was by this film. I saw the trailer and thought it had so much potential. Near-dystopian future setting, and a mix of sci-fi and moody noir thriller....bags of promise. But underneath atmosphere and great visuals, it badly missed the mark in my opinion. It felt like there were too many ideas, most of which weren't particularly original, and it tripped over them all. Add in too many flashback scenes and the feeling that the storyline was chasing its tail, and you get what ended up being a bit of a mess. The script didn't help either - came across as cheesy and contrived, and you know it's a bad script when it causes a decent actor like Hugh Jackman to come across as wooden.

18. The Night House - 7/10
Enjoyed this. An old-fashioned, atmospheric, jumpy supernatural horror which got more complex as it went along. Quite a clever premise with a psychological and philosophical edge. Plenty of genuinely tense and scary moments by a lake in upstate New York, and an impressive performance from Rebecca Hall who flits between despair/hysteria and single-minded determination and certainty with ease.

19. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - 8/10
Didn't know what to expect, but loved it. I don't know much about the story as, whilst I am deep in the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom, I've never really been into the comics. Visually impressive with really strong performances, especially from Tony Leung as Wenwu and from Simu Liu as Shang Chi. Perfect blend of an exciting origins storyline and some great characters and actors to introduce Shang Chi to the MCU, with the character development (some nice family drama) matching the awesome action/fight scenes. Had some Dr. Strange witchcraft vibes, so I'm sure that will link in, and made me excited for the upcoming next installment of the Spider-Man franchise.

20. James Bond: No Time To Die - 7/10
The film that it feels like we've been waiting for forever! In the end, a fitting finale for Daniel Craig's run as James Bond. Didn't quite hit the heights of Casino Royale or Skyfall, but was undeniably better than the disappointing Quantum of Solace and Spectre. Had the occasional cringey, cheesy Bond line or moment but nowhere near as many as in Spectre (which I cringed all the way through), and I suppose it has to retain some of that so that it still feels like Bond! The character is different these days, and certainly in this film - less sex and womanizing; plenty of self-doubt; and a much more human side to him. All felt a bit less sleek as well, although what should have been a pretty implausible plot ended up working well and the camera work for fight scenes and car chase scenes was dazzling. Loved the cameo from Ana de Armas too - badass! Will be very interested to see where they go next - looks like a reboot of sorts could be on the cards.


That's me up to 20 films since May with the Unlimited card, not too shabby!

I had the odeon unlimited a few years ago, was really good if you have the time to go a lot. At the time I lived a 3 min walk from Chelmsford odeon which was ideal, in the summer I was rewatching some films just because of the air con haha

 

[tia]

Yeah I’m looking forward to see this as a huge Sopranos fab

Its good watch it ties up a few things from Sopranos and I'm pretty sure another film showing Tony rise to the top and taking over his crew will be made soon

 

[TrueBlue]

Its good watch it ties up a few things from Sopranos and I'm pretty sure another film showing Tony rise to the top and taking over his crew will be made soon

Thanks!

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

The Many Saint's of Newark. So, I'm a massive Sopranos fan. I can normally only watch a series once, and I'm done, even if it's good. But the Sopranos, I've watched 3 times. I just think it's amazing. The characters, the acting, the story lines. (The Richie Aprile episodes were a big favourite of mine. He was very believably menacing, played by a great actor, and was a challenge to Tony). James Gandolfini's acting, wow. The in house stuff with Tony and his family. So I was really looking forward to this film. First time I have been to the pictures in about 15 years. The £6 early showing Monday deal is great. I have to say, I was disappointed. It was more about Tony's uncle, and they made it a blacks v mafia thing. rather than scores being settled within the mafia. I agree with tia, hopefully they will make another film showing Tony's rise to the top, and that should be much better. James Gandolfini's real life son Michael, is perfect for playing young Tony.

For anyone that's not seen The Sopranos, here's a little taste of Tony and Richie's interactions.

 

[AndyT]

If Beale Street Could Talk was good the other night.

 

[tia]

The Many Saint's of Newark. So, I'm a massive Sopranos fan. I can normally only watch a series once, and I'm done, even if it's good. But the Sopranos, I've watched 3 times. I just think it's amazing. The characters, the acting, the story lines. (The Richie Aprile episodes were a big favourite of mine. He was very believably menacing, played by a great actor, and was a challenge to Tony). James Gandolfini's acting, wow. The in house stuff with Tony and his family. So I was really looking forward to this film. First time I have been to the pictures in about 15 years. The £6 early showing Monday deal is great. I have to say, I was disappointed. It was more about Tony's uncle, and they made it a blacks v mafia thing. rather than scores being settled within the mafia. I agree with tia, hopefully they will make another film showing Tony's rise to the top, and that should be much better. James Gandolfini's real life son Michael, is perfect for playing young Tony.

For anyone that's not seen The Sopranos, here's a little taste of Tony and Richie's interactions.

I liked the film but agree they did focus on Blacks v Mafia a lot.I suppose this did happen back in the day.I thought the actor who played Junior was very good and captured older Junior's character very well.Im pretty sure they will make a second film soon

 

[tia]

Watched Venom last night with Tom Hardy I really enjoyed it.Decent storyline great action and good comedy moments.Looking forward to seeing the second one at cinema this month

 

[Frankie]

The Jerk starring Ron Martin oh sorry Steve Martin.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Saw Amodóvar's excellent new film Madres paralelas (Parallel Mothers) yesterday.Pedro is a lot more serious these days and his film deals with motherhood + inter alia Spain's Historical memory Law (the first mainstream Spanish film to do so to my knowledge).Penelope Cruz was outstanding.

(This film will be on Netflix soon for anyone with an aversion to seeing new films in cinemas)

 

[JAL]

Watched the new Venom, it was ****.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Caught up with Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea yesterday.Don't think I've ever seen Sergi Lopez in a bad film.He's excellent in this.

 

[Mad Cyril]

The Jerk starring Ron Martin oh sorry Steve Martin.

Good lord - cat juggling!

 

[southendkid]

Saw No Time To Die, was alright but the plot didn't make much sense. The director insists Covid didn't change the script but the "nanobots" acted suspiciously like a virus (not to mention the villain seemed to be building the nanobots in a chemical vat rather than on a production line like robots typically would be). I have a feeling nanobots weren't part of the original script but got hastily added in because the writers didn't think a villain trying to start a pandemic would go down too well in 2021.