The Green Lantern - 5/10, boring.

The Green Lantern - 5/10, boring.

 

 

This reminds me of a brilliant film I saw a few years ago - I may have mentioned it before (can;t remember!)

 

Raise the Red Lantern.  Here's link to a review

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101640/reviews

Found myself watching The Predator (1989) a few weeks back. Just to see if it was as good as I remembered it as a kid. Saw the Running Man as well because I'd never watched it before.

(Never realized Arnie was so damn funny.)

Get tu da Chaapah! Get tu de Chaapah!!

The Imitation Game - boring, wanted to stop it at half. 4/10

 

The Conformist - pretentious and a little bit boring too, but directing is good and some shots are very nice. 6/10

Serena

2/10, I couldn't even watch it till the end.

Serena

2/10, I couldn't even watch it till the end.

 

I think you'd have more luck at choosing which films to watch by drawing them from a hat...

I think you'd have more luck at choosing which films to watch by drawing them from a hat...

That is pretty much what I do anyway.

That is pretty much what I do anyway.

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/serena_2015/?search=serena#contentReviews 

Just finished watching Interstellar.

 

Holy f**k. What a film.

9/10.

Lone Survivor - a very good example of the 'cut off and alone behind enemy lines' genre of war film. The action and emotion are well done and there's an interesting (and true) twist at the end of the film.

Great film, picked it up in HMV about a month ago, it surprised me tbh.

Just finished watching Interstellar.

 

Holy f**k. What a film.

9/10.

great film that!

Just finished watching Interstellar.

 

Holy f**k. What a film.

9/10.

 

Aahhh mate you should have seen it in IMAX. It blew my tits off. I welled up quite a few times too, great film.

 

Starred Up. Gritty British prison drama. 9/10. 

I've just seen Cloud Atlas for the third time. It's a really great film. It's one of those that seems to get better with each viewing.

 

It's a very deep film, telling six different stories set in six different time periods all at once. Starting in the mid 19th century and going through to the post apocalyptic 24th century. Each story has a different genre, so we have a Drama, a Romance, a Thriller, a Comedy, a Sci-Fi, and finally a Dystopian/Fantasy... The same actors are used in all six stories (possibly hinting at reincarnation). It ultimately shows how "Everything Is Connected" (the tagline for the film). It's very, very hard to describe. It's a surreal experience from start to finish... It has a great cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant (he really surprised me with his acting capabilities in this film).

 

Some people think it's pretentious but I don't agree. It's simply a film that makes you think (when did that become such a bad thing?)... It's worth a look just to see Tom Hanks as an angry Irish author in the comedy story (could hardly believe it was him, lol), and Hugh Grant as a savage cannibal in the post apocalyptic future.

 

I think it's a beautiful film and I highly recommend it.

Edited March 22, 201511 yr by CFC-Forever

A Man Escaped - Bresson - 1956: I originally saw this in France more than 30 years ago on the screen & like all other Bresson's films it had a huge impact on me. Just watched it again on DVD & it's lost none of its intensity. Arguably the greatest prison escape flick ever made - it's influence on various directors such as Schrader, Scorcese & the Cohn Brothers & many others in respect to narrative technique has been profound . There is simply not an extraneous shot in the whole film & because of this it has been widely accepted that the film is both perfect & great - an extremely rare combination. Part of the perfection is derived from the severe minimalism of expression - quite deliberately, nothing is let or left to intrude between the relationship between the viewer & the protagonist as he plans & then executes his escape. Confined by himself (for the most part) in a completely sterile, totally austere cell, he must devise the escape using only materials already contained in the cell. When you watch & reflect on the film you begin to understand how completely over-dressed, unnecessary & superfluous most if not all film-making is and of course, being a Bresson film, there is no "acting" at all - in fact, completely the reverse. But it is wholly & intrinsically absorbing. If you're heartily sick of showy, effects driven, over-acted, over-designed, over-staged, over-hyped & over-indulged films then do yourself a favour & watch this film.

A Man Escaped - Bresson - 1956: I originally saw this in France more than 30 years ago on the screen & like all other Bresson's films it had a huge impact on me. Just watched it again on DVD & it's lost none of its intensity. Arguably the greatest prison escape flick ever made - it's influence on various directors such as Schrader, Scorcese & the Cohn Brothers & many others in respect to narrative technique has been profound . There is simply not an extraneous shot in the whole film & because of this it has been widely accepted that the film is both perfect & great - an extremely rare combination. Part of the perfection is derived from the severe minimalism of expression - quite deliberately, nothing is let or left to intrude between the relationship between the viewer & the protagonist as he plans & then executes his escape. Confined by himself (for the most part) in a completely sterile, totally austere cell, he must devise the escape using only materials already contained in the cell. When you watch & reflect on the film you begin to understand how completely over-dressed, unnecessary & superfluous most if not all film-making is and of course, being a Bresson film, there is no "acting" at all - in fact, completely the reverse. But it is wholly & intrinsically absorbing. If you're heartily sick of showy, effects driven, over-acted, over-designed, over-staged, over-hyped & over-indulged films then do yourself a favour & watch this film.

 

 

Thank you lots!  I've just ordered it from Amazon - all your other recommendations have been excellent, so I know this will be.

Kill the Irishman . Based on a true story and now on Sky. Well worth watching.

Edge of Tomorrow - starship troopers meets Groundhog Day. Decent enough watch if you like sci fi.

7/10

A Man Escaped - Bresson - 1956: I originally saw this in France more than 30 years ago on the screen & like all other Bresson's films it had a huge impact on me. Just watched it again on DVD & it's lost none of its intensity. Arguably the greatest prison escape flick ever made - it's influence on various directors such as Schrader, Scorcese & the Cohn Brothers & many others in respect to narrative technique has been profound . There is simply not an extraneous shot in the whole film & because of this it has been widely accepted that the film is both perfect & great - an extremely rare combination. Part of the perfection is derived from the severe minimalism of expression - quite deliberately, nothing is let or left to intrude between the relationship between the viewer & the protagonist as he plans & then executes his escape. Confined by himself (for the most part) in a completely sterile, totally austere cell, he must devise the escape using only materials already contained in the cell. When you watch & reflect on the film you begin to understand how completely over-dressed, unnecessary & superfluous most if not all film-making is and of course, being a Bresson film, there is no "acting" at all - in fact, completely the reverse. But it is wholly & intrinsically absorbing. If you're heartily sick of showy, effects driven, over-acted, over-designed, over-staged, over-hyped & over-indulged films then do yourself a favour & watch this film.

Not a star wars fan then youlots?

Not a star wars fan then youlots?

 

 

There was acting in Star Wars?  

Just watched another Spanish film, mientras duermes Sleep Tight, dark and disturbing, but nowhere as bad as the last Spanish film I watched.

This was a psychological thriller, creepy and a little claustrophobic.

Just watched another Spanish film, mientras duermes Sleep Tight, dark and disturbing, but nowhere as bad as the last Spanish film I watched.

This was a psychological thriller, creepy and a little claustrophobic.

i like a good spanish/foreign film myself, bombom el perro is a favorite of mine Argentinian/spanish. very good film.

i like a good spanish/foreign film myself, bombom el perro is a favorite of mine Argentinian/spanish. very good film.

That's on my list now.

There was acting in Star Wars?  

Hey, Alec Guinness was nominated for an Academy Award for Star Wars (the first one).

Edited March 23, 201511 yr by CFC-Forever

Not a star wars fan then youlots?

 

mmmm....how do I answer that? Saw it on 1st release in '77 and as a teen I, like most other kids back then I'd imagine, was dazzled by the special effects & production values. That's what I remember. I don't recall ever having seen it again since & probably wouldn't ever watch it again. I mean but for the special effects that are naturally somewhat dated now, what else is there to it? It's a Space Western: no surprises there given Lucas borrowed heavily from Kurosawa & Ford & the film is replete with western themes & staging - not that there's anything wrong with that or those influences at all. I admire Lucas because of the technological advances he, together with Murch, was at the forefront of & largely shaped in many ways but that's probably about it. I don't really have any regard for him as a film-maker or director per se (there I go - the french again). Obviously that sounds harsh & probably is but try to appreciate where I'm coming from. Lucas' debut film THX 1138 was an astonishing initial piece of work both technically & thematically & still holds up today. Whilst certainly it can be criticised in a number of respects it still stands up pretty well & here I'll borrow from a critic, Jeff Overstreet, who says it better than I ever could:

 

"THX 1138 shows that Lucas was once interested in letting actors act, and in letting the audience think for themselves. It reveals just how much his technological toys have crippled him as a storyteller even as they have allowed him to concoct dazzling, dizzying, and distracting imagery."

 

There are some great films that are science fiction based: Metropolis, 2001, Solaris, Alien, Bladerunner & many more. But is Star Wars or its endless sequels & prequels among them? Not a chance.

Edited March 23, 201511 yr by youlots

Hey, Alec Guinness was nominated for an Academy Award for Star Wars (the first one).

 

hehe....what did Guinness say about the film? That it was "fairy tale rubbish". In 1999 he said that it was actually his idea to kill off Obi-Wan, persuading Lucas that it would make him a stronger character, and that Lucas agreed to the idea. Guinness stated in the interview, "What I didn't tell Lucas was that I just couldn't go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines. I'd had enough of the mumbo jumbo." He went on to say that he "shrivelled up" every time Star Wars was mentioned to him.