c4countdown

Saw Assault on Precinct 13 the other night. Very watchable relative to its budget, and pleasing soundtrack of course, which is all I'd previously been aware of.

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:01 pm Saw Assault on Precinct 13 the other night. Very watchable relative to its budget, and pleasing soundtrack of course, which is all I'd previously been aware of.

If it's the John Carpenter original, then it's a superb film and I do believe it's his film score too.

Beasts of No Nation.. A difficult subject, but very well handled. Violent at times, but thought provoking and harrowing.

Anyone seen the German film "Look Who's Back" ("Er ist wieder da")? It's pretty dark, but really funny (if you like that kind of humour) and I think has some interesting points to make. It's basically "what if Hitler came back in the present day and what would he do" and while they milk it (Hitler in incongruous situations etc.), it's well worth watching.

JimBentley wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:07 pm Anyone seen the German film "Look Who's Back" ("Er ist wieder da")? It's pretty dark, but really funny (if you like that kind of humour) and I think has some interesting points to make. It's basically "what if Hitler came back in the present day and what would he do" and while they milk it (Hitler in incongruous situations etc.), it's well worth watching.

I started reading the book and it was trash. Not sure if it was just a bad translation (assuming that it was German originally) but yeah... rubbish!

Just seen Bohemian Rhapsody.
Superb biopic.
Rami Malek was unbelievable, the music was great the choreography first class and although they took a few liberties with the timeline, the Live Aid climax was spot on.
If you like Queen or music biopics you will love it

Jon O'Neill wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:11 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:07 pm Anyone seen the German film "Look Who's Back" ("Er ist wieder da")? It's pretty dark, but really funny (if you like that kind of humour) and I think has some interesting points to make. It's basically "what if Hitler came back in the present day and what would he do" and while they milk it (Hitler in incongruous situations etc.), it's well worth watching.

I started reading the book and it was trash. Not sure if it was just a bad translation (assuming that it was German originally) but yeah... rubbish!

Read the book in original German cause I'm so hard and I thought it was fine tbh but maybe I just have shit book taste

Thomas Carey wrote: ↑Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:24 pm

Jon O'Neill wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:11 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:07 pm Anyone seen the German film "Look Who's Back" ("Er ist wieder da")? It's pretty dark, but really funny (if you like that kind of humour) and I think has some interesting points to make. It's basically "what if Hitler came back in the present day and what would he do" and while they milk it (Hitler in incongruous situations etc.), it's well worth watching.

I started reading the book and it was trash. Not sure if it was just a bad translation (assuming that it was German originally) but yeah... rubbish!

Read the book in original German cause I'm so hard and I thought it was fine tbh but maybe I just have shit book taste

A lot of the criticism of the book came about because it was a written in a deliberate pastiche of Hitler's writing style (i.e. quite clunky prose) and that made it difficult to read, which is an understandable criticism to be honest. I think the film sidesteps that by treating Hitler more as a documentary subject, there's no real narrative voice at all.

Watched two remake this week.
Widows, a reimagining of the Linda LaPlant classic.
Very well made, Chicago set drama tackling racism, sexism and still packing a great deal of story and action.
The editing was genius.
Also watched the remake of Papillon.
Probably didn't need remaking but the two leads were excellent.
Rami Malek really is a very versatile actor.

Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:25 pm Primer - What was that all about? ?/10

Finally watched this and it's amazing. 100% totally recommended, would see again (I think I need to because I definitely didn't understand it all the first time and I've looked at diagrams and everything.

JimBentley wrote: ↑Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:40 pm

Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:25 pm Primer - What was that all about? ?/10

Finally watched this and it's amazing. 100% totally recommended, would see again (I think I need to because I definitely didn't understand it all the first time and I've looked at diagrams and everything.

Should have made it clearer that I too recommend it. Have you seen his follow-up Upstream Color? I still haven't watched it myself but it's supposed to be even better.

Mark James wrote: ↑Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:31 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:40 pm

Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:25 pm Primer - What was that all about? ?/10

Finally watched this and it's amazing. 100% totally recommended, would see again (I think I need to because I definitely didn't understand it all the first time and I've looked at diagrams and everything.

Should have made it clearer that I too recommend it. Have you seen his follow-up Upstream Color? I still haven't watched it myself but it's supposed to be even better.

Not yet, but I'm going to watch it soon, it's near the top of my list (every time I get recommended a film, or read about a film that sounds interesting, it goes onto the list, but to be honest it's getting a bit out of hand now, as for each one I tick off, I add five more). I'll need to live to about 150 to watch them all and I don't think that's going to happen.

Primer is the nearest thing to a feasible time travel film you can get

Mark James wrote: ↑Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:31 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:40 pm

Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:25 pm Primer - What was that all about? ?/10

Finally watched this and it's amazing. 100% totally recommended, would see again (I think I need to because I definitely didn't understand it all the first time and I've looked at diagrams and everything.

Should have made it clearer that I too recommend it. Have you seen his follow-up Upstream Color? I still haven't watched it myself but it's supposed to be even better.

I have seen Upstream Colour, it's really good and well worth watching

Run Fatboy Run, a bit clichéd, but it passed the time sufficiently well.

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:54 pm Run Fatboy Run, a bit clichéd, but it passed the time sufficiently well.

There was a question on Pointless recently about naming actors in the film and I'd forgotten Thandie Newton was in it and I watched the film at the cinema

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 1:18 pm

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:54 pm Run Fatboy Run, a bit clichéd, but it passed the time sufficiently well.

There was a question on Pointless recently about naming actors in the film and I'd forgotten Thandie Newton was in it and I watched the film at the cinema

I'd barely heard of her before, but she was a definite plus-point.

Watched Arrival. It was alright. It was a bit dreary in terms of the colour pallete, very un sci-fi like. And it went a bit weird in the end in the same way Interstellar did where it strays more into the fi than the sci. Still worth the watch. Amy Adams is always good.

Then I watched Split which was excellent. A return to form for M. Night Shamalamadingdong or however you spell it. McEvoy does a great job switching between the personalities and the lead actress is a good find. It too strays a bit further than you might think in the final third but it really works.

Mark James wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:35 am Watched Arrival. It was alright. It was a bit dreary in terms of the colour pallete, very un sci-fi like. And it went a bit weird in the end in the same way Interstellar did where it strays more into the fi than the sci. Still worth the watch. Amy Adams is always good.

Then I watched Split which was excellent. A return to form for M. Night Shamalamadingdong or however you spell it. McEvoy does a great job switching between the personalities and the lead actress is a good find. It too strays a bit further than you might think in the final third but it really works.

I liked Split too until the film somehow aligned itself to Unbreakable.
I thought Arrival was excellent especially on second viewing.
I do like a film that asks you suspend belief in a good way.
One of my favourite films that does this is the Prestige

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:27 pm Just seen Bohemian Rhapsody.
Superb biopic.
Rami Malek was unbelievable, the music was great the choreography first class and although they took a few liberties with the timeline, the Live Aid climax was spot on.
If you like Queen or music biopics you will love it

Agreed - superb. Rami Malek's portrayal was uncanny. Gwilym Lee was so like Brian May too (mannerisms, voice, facial expressions) that it felt more like a fly-on-the-wall documentary at times. Found out an interesting fact: Mike Myers was the one who pushed for Bohemian Rhapsody in the memorable headbanging-in-the-car scene in Wayne's World: the director wanted Guns N' Roses. Makes MM's part as Ray Foster getting it wrong all the more of a dig at the music business.

Mark James wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:35 am Watched Arrival. It was alright. It was a bit dreary in terms of the colour pallete, very un sci-fi like. And it went a bit weird in the end in the same way Interstellar did where it strays more into the fi than the sci. Still worth the watch. Amy Adams is always good.

I found that this was one of those films that tries to get people to think "Wow, that was amazing, so profound" when really it was just pretentious and up its own arse.

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:38 am

Mark James wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:35 am Watched Arrival. It was alright. It was a bit dreary in terms of the colour pallete, very un sci-fi like. And it went a bit weird in the end in the same way Interstellar did where it strays more into the fi than the sci. Still worth the watch. Amy Adams is always good.

I found that this was one of those films that tries to get people to think "Wow, that was amazing, so profound" when really it was just pretentious and up its own arse.

If you want pretentious watch Annihilation.

I'm guessing taking a leap of faith isn't high on your agenda

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:38 am

Mark James wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:35 am Watched Arrival. It was alright. It was a bit dreary in terms of the colour pallete, very un sci-fi like. And it went a bit weird in the end in the same way Interstellar did where it strays more into the fi than the sci. Still worth the watch. Amy Adams is always good.

I found that this was one of those films that tries to get people to think "Wow, that was amazing, so profound" when really it was just pretentious and up its own arse.

Haha, ever the contrarian! But that's all part of your charm. I enjoyed "Arrival", anyway. I didn't find it especially profound but it was quite thoughtful as mainstream Hollywood films go.

Anyone seen "Predestination"? It's another relatively low-budget film (although not as low-budget as "Primer", obviously) that deals with time travel, but in a completely different way. To begin with, it seemed as though it was going to be a bit slow, but the story becomes really compelling and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

JimBentley wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:06 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:38 am

Mark James wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:35 am Watched Arrival. It was alright. It was a bit dreary in terms of the colour pallete, very un sci-fi like. And it went a bit weird in the end in the same way Interstellar did where it strays more into the fi than the sci. Still worth the watch. Amy Adams is always good.

I found that this was one of those films that tries to get people to think "Wow, that was amazing, so profound" when really it was just pretentious and up its own arse.

Haha, ever the contrarian! But that's all part of your charm. I enjoyed "Arrival", anyway. I didn't find it especially profound but it was quite thoughtful as mainstream Hollywood films go.

Anyone seen "Predestination"? It's another relatively low-budget film (although not as low-budget as "Primer", obviously) that deals with time travel, but in a completely different way. To begin with, it seemed as though it was going to be a bit slow, but the story becomes really compelling and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Very clever film, Ethan Hunt always good value.
Like the Cerberus reference.

Whilst we are talking about low tech Sci Fi.
I can recommend Time Lapse from a few years back.

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:10 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:06 pm Anyone seen "Predestination"? It's another relatively low-budget film (although not as low-budget as "Primer", obviously) that deals with time travel, but in a completely different way. To begin with, it seemed as though it was going to be a bit slow, but the story becomes really compelling and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Very clever film, Ethan Hunt always good value.

I prefer Ethan Hawke.

I have watched both of the Inbetweeners movies recently.

Phil Reynolds wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:30 am

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:10 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:06 pm Anyone seen "Predestination"? It's another relatively low-budget film (although not as low-budget as "Primer", obviously) that deals with time travel, but in a completely different way. To begin with, it seemed as though it was going to be a bit slow, but the story becomes really compelling and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Very clever film, Ethan Hunt always good value.

I prefer Ethan Hawke.

Haha, excellent. Isn't Ethan Hunt the name of Tom Cruise's character in the Mission Impossible films? Speaking of which, I've only seen a couple of those but they're always quite entertaining.

My bad
I also frequently mix up Gareth and Christian Bale.
The names rather than the people

JimBentley wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 2:44 pm

Phil Reynolds wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:30 am

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:10 pm

Very clever film, Ethan Hunt always good value.

I prefer Ethan Hawke.

Haha, excellent. Isn't Ethan Hunt the name of Tom Cruise's character in the Mission Impossible films? Speaking of which, I've only seen a couple of those but they're always quite entertaining.

The last two Mission Impossible films have been excellent
Ted Cruz, ....Tom Cruise did all his own stunts

Phil Reynolds wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:30 am

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:10 pm

JimBentley wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:06 pm Anyone seen "Predestination"? It's another relatively low-budget film (although not as low-budget as "Primer", obviously) that deals with time travel, but in a completely different way. To begin with, it seemed as though it was going to be a bit slow, but the story becomes really compelling and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Very clever film, Ethan Hunt always good value.

I prefer Ethan Hawke.

I still can't remember if it was my cock up or the predictive text.
Having just typed Ethan ,
Hunt immediately shows so I'm not sure

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:53 pm

Phil Reynolds wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:30 am

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:10 pm Very clever film, Ethan Hunt always good value.

I prefer Ethan Hawke.

I still can't remember if it was my cock up or the predictive text.

Predictive text eh. If only there was some way of examining a post before submitting it (say, by looking at it with your eyes) to confirm that what it says is what you actually meant.

Nah, it's usually 5 in the morning and I can't be arsed

Not a film but a documentary.
Just finished watching Three Identical Strangers, a fascinating and shocking story about reunited triplets and their history.
Truth really is stranger than fiction.
Well worth a look

Thor Ragnarok. How did this get so much praise? I thought it was tremendously boring. Getting tired of the Marvel cinematic universe to be honest.

Mark James wrote: ↑Sun Dec 02, 2018 9:02 pm Getting tired of the Marvel cinematic universe to be honest.

That happened to me at some point during Iron Man.

Only marvel films I enjoy are the ones that don't take themselves too seriously like Deadpool and Venom

After watching a recording of his stand up, I decided to watch Click for the umpteenth time.
It is a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy
Nobody could watch the scene with Henry Winkler near the end and not be moved to tears. ( The gauntlet is thrown Gevin )

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 8:00 pm After watching a recording of his stand up, I decided to watch Click for the umpteenth time.
It is a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy
Nobody could watch the scene with Henry Winkler near the end and not be moved to tears. ( The gauntlet is thrown Gevin )

I'm just crying at the thought of the Fonz.

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 8:00 pm After watching a recording of his stand up, I decided to watch Click for the umpteenth time.
It is a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy
Nobody could watch the scene with Henry Winkler near the end and not be moved to tears. ( The gauntlet is thrown Gevin )

I've read your post three times now and I still can't find where in it you say whose stand-up you're talking about. Or are we meant to just know?

Phil Reynolds wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 3:01 pm

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 8:00 pm After watching a recording of his stand up, I decided to watch Click for the umpteenth time.
It is a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy
Nobody could watch the scene with Henry Winkler near the end and not be moved to tears. ( The gauntlet is thrown Gevin )

I've read your post three times now and I still can't find where in it you say whose stand-up you're talking about. Or are we meant to just know?

I guess if you'd seen Click the Movie starring Adam Sandler you would have probably guessed , especially if you was also aware that Henry Winkler and other male actors in the film do not have a stand up comedy background I am aware of.
But to recap, I watched the latest Adam Sandler stand up comedy film (won't say DVD as I watched on Netflix ).
This was quite funny although there was probably too many comedy songs for my liking.
Nevertheless I decided to watch Click for two reasons.
The obvious association with the stand up show I watched and to test my theory that the older you get, the more likely you are to cry at a film.
Cried like a baby at the previously mentioned scene.
Also watched a thirty second clip of the original Dumbo on YouTube and cried at that too.

Saw Solo: A Star Wars Story in an open air cinema in Lanzarote. I normally don't like cinemas but this was a cool experience. Got a lovely two course meal as well during the film. Movie was ok. I'm not much of a Star Wars fan and apparently Star Wars fans don't like this one but I thought it was one of the better ones. Probably put it as my third favourite behind Empire and New Hope.

Saw the new Ghostbusters last night, it wasn't too bad actually, some good moments, references to the original all over the place, although it would have been nice to have a little more nuance going on in general.

Just watched Shape of Water there. Haven't seen all the best picture oscar nominees from 2018 but of the ones I did see it's probably my favourite. Makes me want to watch Pan's Labyrinth again though. I like del Toro's style.

Just watched the interactive Black Mirror film Bandersnatch on Netflix.
Anyone who lived through the eighties , like me, will love it
The interactive segments are innovative.
I might have to watch it about 15 times to see all the scenarios.
I thoroughly recommend it to all fans of Black mirror.

I also watched Bird Box this week another Netflix gem

Really liked Bandersnatch. In some ways though it's unsatisfying. I'm sure a few of you will remember a "video game" from a while ago called Heavy Rain which was a kind of similar thing but with a shitter plot and irrelevant game like interaction.

I thought at the time it would have been better if it had less of that interaction and they just filmed it, basically like what Charlie Brooker has done here, but one thing it had going for it was that it used the trophy system to sort of mark off which endings and paths you've been down. In that way it became more like a game because it felt like an achievement when you experienced the different threads.

I know it's kind of stupid because I could just record that information myself and give myself an imaginary trophy for experiencing all the possibilities of Bandersnatch but I was more inclined to just look up the alternate endings on YouTube or wherever rather than "play" through them all myself in the same way I wanted to with Heavy Rain.

Having read about some of the other possibilities though I do want to try get one more ending myself. And I wouldn't be against more of this kind of stuff in the future.

I do believe this is landmark viewing.
I predict all streaming services will jump on the bandwagon and even filmmakers can make alternative denouements to films rather than just put it in the deleted scenes of a dvd

I think you're right that others will copy it but as much as I enjoyed I think it's still a bit gimmicky and the novelty could wear off very quickly if people aren't doing it right. If it seems like they're just jumping on the bandwagon without putting the requisite thought into it it could die a death. The kind of alternate endings you usually see as dvd extras rarely turn up any kind of ending where you think "yeah that's how it should have ended".

I think it's why I kind of felt unsatisfied. When I watch a film I want to be told a story by an artist who has a singular vision. The story should be about something and as such should have a definitive ending. Even ambiguous endings are kind of definitive in their own way, that's where the artist wanted to stop telling the story. Also multiple endings are different to multiple interpretations of a story. They have a different feel.

Bandersnatch works as well as it does because the story is about the experience. In one sense it's a proof of concept but also I feel like it can't be done again as well because it's already commented on itself.

It's a bit like the Nintendo Wii. Motion controls never really applied themselves as well to any game as they did to the first game, Wii Sports, and even that was a glorified tech demo. Hey look it works, but this is the best it's ever gonna get.

In an abstract way it will combat piracy because you cannot really download it.
It might be a bit gimmicky I would equate it to a 3D film there were a spate of them 10 or so years ago but you don't get many now

Is it anything like Atmosfear?

Watched The Dark Knight again the other night because I didn't like it the first time and thought maybe a second viewing might do the trick but no. Still don't get the praise. It was better than the first time but I still think it's pretty crap. The pacing is really weird and the dialogue is awful. Pretty much every line is a speech, no one has a proper conversation. And Bale's batman voice is ridiculous.

Mark James wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 3:05 pm Watched The Dark Knight again the other night because I didn't like it the first time and thought maybe a second viewing might do the trick but no. Still don't get the praise. It was better than the first time but I still think it's pretty crap. The pacing is really weird and the dialogue is awful. Pretty much every line is a speech, no one has a proper conversation. And Bale's batman voice is ridiculous.

Cos the guy died.

Yeah, for once I agree with Gevin, that Heath Ledger's death elevated the film from mediocrity.
Although with few exceptions (Logan being one that springs to mind ) I find the whole comic book universe boring unless it doesn't take itself seriously like Deadpool and Venom

Been a bit busy watching films lately.
Three I can highly recommend are
Vice a brilliant satire on American politics that makes you glad to be British despite the madness of Brexit.

Green Book a superb road movie of sorts that poignantly tackles race and stereotypes, my tip for at least three oscars
The Upside.
Quite funny and Even if you have seen the French original, it's still worthy of watching, and Kevin Hart was not irritating.
It's refreshing to see a film about disability that isn't all doom and gloom

Just watched Mandy, psychedelic revenge flick with Nicolas Cage in top form. It's gorgeously shot. One of the best looking movies ever. A real face melter. Highly recommend.

Considering going to Captain Marvel -- is it worth it?

Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:04 am Considering going to Captain Marvel -- is it worth it?

Yes, I enjoyed it.
Unless you don't like nineties music and are not in any way a feminist then it's worth a look.
Good plot and sometimes quite funny

Hellraiser - pretty terrible acting and cliched storyline (well, I say cliched, but was anyone writing this tripe before Clive Barker?), quite enjoyable for all that. Got 2 and 3 to watch when I get a moment. [Evil Dead trilogy (only seen first one before), and Ready Player One also queued].

Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:04 am Considering going to Captain Marvel -- is it worth it?

You'd have to be a marvel fan to enjoy it

Owen Carroll wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2019 5:43 pm

Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:04 am Considering going to Captain Marvel -- is it worth it?

You'd have to be a marvel fan to enjoy it

I'm not a Marvel fan per se but I enjoyed it.
Maybe setting it in the nineties with a quality soundtrack helped.
Samuel L Jackson was cool and funny.
Brie Larson was great as Carol Danvers