Films I watched this week (NO SPOILERS) (Vol 3)

Films I watched this week (NO SPOILERS) (Vol 3)

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DKS

1,786 posts

199 months

Tuesday 25th June 2024
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Brother D said:
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Kinda WW2 film for 'modern audiences' a bit slow going and despite the added characters for 'modern audiences' was fairly enjoyable.



6.5/10
How did you view please?

DodgyGeezer

43,944 posts

205 months

Tuesday 25th June 2024
quotequote all
just watched "The Fall Guy" - mixed feelings about this: there are some bits that are really good and, overall, the film is enjoyable BUT there are way too many talky bits so it falls in-between being an action movie with a little romance thrown in and in doing so misses both targets. Most of the music appealed to me so that's a plus - but they changed the lyrics to "The Unknown Stuntman" so that was disappointing too. Don't misunderstand it was an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple of hours - but it could (and should) have been sooo much better.

I rather suspect that I'd have preferred to watch the original TV series although it would've been a whole lot cheesier...

blingybongy

4,005 posts

161 months

Tuesday 25th June 2024
quotequote all
DKS said:
Brother D said:
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Kinda WW2 film for 'modern audiences' a bit slow going and despite the added characters for 'modern audiences' was fairly enjoyable.



6.5/10
How did you view please?
I watched it on YouTube, somehow there was an hd copy there

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EwJfKNBGm54&pp=y...

macron

11,730 posts

181 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
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Sleeping Dogs

On Prime with Russell Crowe, feels like a while since I've watched him in anything. Bit of a whodunit, drags in places but I was only half watching, generally solid performance from him as usual, bit on the fence as to whether it was predictable or not, there were perhaps a few too many features added in unnecessarily.

6.5/10



Edited by macron on Wednesday 26th June 00:17

Cotty

41,265 posts

299 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
quotequote all
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

blingybongy said:
I watched it on YouTube, somehow there was an hd copy there

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EwJfKNBGm54&pp=y...
I had a watch of that yesterday. It was ok but a bit like someone playing a computer game with all the cheats turned on, unlimited ammo, aim bots, max health etc. Also I just felt the English accents were a bit over the top.

C5_Steve

5,786 posts

118 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
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The Shadow

Imagine merging the characters Batman and Dr Strange, having Alec Baldwin play the lead and setting it all in 1930s America with the last descendant of Ghengis Kahn as your bad guy, bringing in elements of Indiana Jones. Oh, and Tim Curry and Sir Ian McKellen are supporting cast! Well, imagine no more because 1994's The Shadow is the film for you!

I've no idea how but I had this on VHS as a kid and watched it repeatedly. I heard someone mention that they should do another one and it reminded me I'd seen it so off I went to pick up the Blu Ray. Not cheap at £16 but I suspect it's long out of production now. It's a good film, I think the character was virtually unknown at the time (as it still is) but the basic premise is The Shadow is the alter ego of Lamont Cranston, a previous warlord who a monk in Tibet rehabilitated and now fights crime by clouding men's minds so that only his shadow remains visible...etc etc

It's a shorter film at only 1hr48 mins long and in all honesty I'd be fine with another 10 mins at the start to set up the origin as it does feel a bit rushed but that just gets you into the action. It really does feel like a mix between a number of different films, with Alec Baldwin playing the main character really well. You do believe he could be both a hero and villain (recent events probably help a little with that).

Should they make another? Maybe. I think if they really leaned into the darkness of it you could have something quite original. It's telling that Sam Raimi actually campaigned to make it but was denied by the studio, so he went off and did Darkman. I think a Raimi take on it would be fantastic.

7/10 (probably a 6.5 without the nostalgia)


SpudLink

7,067 posts

207 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
quotequote all
Cotty said:
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

blingybongy said:
I watched it on YouTube, somehow there was an hd copy there

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EwJfKNBGm54&pp=y...
I had a watch of that yesterday. It was ok but a bit like someone playing a computer game with all the cheats turned on, unlimited ammo, aim bots, max health etc. Also I just felt the English accents were a bit over the top.
The thought I had when watching it is 'over stylised'.
Guy Ritchie does stylised gangsters, stylised travellers, stylised violence. None of it meant to seem 'realistic'. It's what he does, and I generally like it.
But in this case it was exaggerated to the point it distracted from my enjoyment of the film.

Clockwork Cupcake

77,829 posts

287 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
quotequote all
C5_Steve said:
It's telling that Sam Raimi actually campaigned to make it but was denied by the studio, so he went off and did Darkman. I think a Raimi take on it would be fantastic.
Darkman. Now there's an odd film. Haven't seen it in yonks but I recall it lurching wildly between grittiness and comedy, like it couldn't decide which it wanted to be.

It's quite fun to look back at these superhero films that were from a time before the MCU juggernaut made superhero films mainstream.

SlimJim16v

6,720 posts

158 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
quotequote all
Clockwork Cupcake said:
Darkman. Now there's an odd film. Haven't seen it in yonks but I recall it lurching wildly between grittiness and comedy, like it couldn't decide which it wanted to be.
It was on TV last week. I started watching after missing some of the beginning, remembering it wasn't that good, but it drew me in and I watched it all. A lot better than I remembered.

Brother D

4,161 posts

191 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
quotequote all
DKS said:
Brother D said:
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Kinda WW2 film for 'modern audiences' a bit slow going and despite the added characters for 'modern audiences' was fairly enjoyable.



6.5/10
How did you view please?
Its on Amazon in US

peterperkins

3,265 posts

257 months

Wednesday 26th June 2024
quotequote all
Brother D said:
DKS said:
Brother D said:
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Kinda WW2 film for 'modern audiences' a bit slow going and despite the added characters for 'modern audiences' was fairly enjoyable.



6.5/10
How did you view please?
Its on Amazon in US
It's really pants, don't bother!

nismocat

876 posts

23 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
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I know it's oldish but I watched War Horse.

Great movie, as you would expect from Spielberg, but one overriding thing ruined it for me. The character Albert Narracot (actor Jeremy Irvine) was so annoying and pathetic!

Crook

7,291 posts

239 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
quotequote all
Kind Hearts and Coronets

Local indie was showing it, I’d never seen it before so went along; what an excellent film!

Great cast and some very wry dialogue.

Also seen at the local: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire.

I enjoyed the first Paul Rudd film and when I saw the trailer that had the old cast in I thought “how bad can it be?”
The answer is absolutely atrocious.
What an absolute waste of everyone’s time.

If you want to see Dirty Harry or The Conversation on the big screen they’re showing both in July.

https://therexberkhamsted.com/

C5_Steve

5,786 posts

118 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
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Jersey Girl

Despite being a fan of Kevin Smith, I'd never seen this before. Having listened to Smith's various podcasts I'd heard all about it, how it flopped on release etc etc. It's on Netflix and I do like to be a completionist so wanted to see how it went.

What put me off all these years was JLo if I'm honest. However, I needn't have worried smile This film, like a lot of Smith's films, has garnered a cult following in it's later years and continues to be praised in modern times as not at all as bad as it was made out to be and actually a pretty decent film. I'd have to agree with that wholeheartedly.

The film centres on Ben Affleck's character and his journey raising his daughter and is based largely on Smith's own experiences raising his own daughter. Like most Smith films it's very dialogue heavy but what worked so well for me was actually the chemistry between the main cast. You have Liv Tyler returning to star opposite Affleck (first time since Armageddon) and the actor who plays Affleck's young daughter is brilliant. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments and this film has heart in spades.

Yes, it's a bit cheesy and yes you do see the third-act resolution coming a mile away but what's important is it's enjoyable to go on that journey. There's barely a minute where you're not smiling at something on the screen and I can see it being a film I'd rewatch at some point for the feel good factor.

7/10

vixen1700

26,021 posts

285 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
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Midsommar - Film 4

A group travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

Kept me watching.

Pretty creepy and unsettling.

7/10

C5_Steve

5,786 posts

118 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
quotequote all
vixen1700 said:
Midsommar - Film 4

A group travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

Kept me watching.

Pretty creepy and unsettling.

7/10
I keep meaning to watch this, I'll have to give it a go whilst it's on Channel 4. They do have some excellent films on there from time to time.

mickythefish

1,700 posts

21 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
quotequote all
peterperkins said:
It's really pants, don't bother!
i liked it, didn't take it too seriously was a nice action watch.

Dunbar871

218 posts

14 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
quotequote all
C5_Steve said:
vixen1700 said:
Midsommar - Film 4

A group travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

Kept me watching.

Pretty creepy and unsettling.

7/10
I keep meaning to watch this, I'll have to give it a go whilst it's on Channel 4. They do have some excellent films on there from time to time.
I liked MIdsommar. It's not perfect but is definitely unsettling, some have called it a Wicker man remake but I'm not sure I'd completely agree as the storyline is quite different albeit with some parallels.

Unreal

7,016 posts

40 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
quotequote all
Dunbar871 said:
C5_Steve said:
vixen1700 said:
Midsommar - Film 4

A group travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

Kept me watching.

Pretty creepy and unsettling.

7/10
I keep meaning to watch this, I'll have to give it a go whilst it's on Channel 4. They do have some excellent films on there from time to time.
I liked MIdsommar. It's not perfect but is definitely unsettling, some have called it a Wicker man remake but I'm not sure I'd completely agree as the storyline is quite different albeit with some parallels.
Not for me. I found it highly predictable and not remotely unsettling.

Meanwhile - The Menu - what a load of pretentious raw tripe.

Unreal

7,016 posts

40 months

Thursday 27th June 2024
quotequote all
EmailAddress said:
Unreal said:
Meanwhile - The Menu - what a load of pretentious raw tripe.
Prepare the parrot, but that's exactly the point no?
Not for me. No one sets out to make pretentious tripe. Satire, comedy, horror, suspense, or comedy horror. It was just rubbish. If the intention was to be sly and knowing, it failed spectacularly. And Nic Hoult can't act.
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