I Just Watched (Films)

[Stormbringer]

Signs
I recalled thinking this was OK back when I first saw it but on rewatching the whole plot is silly shenanigans. The acting is great. I thought one of the kids looked familiar and after a quick IMDB found it's Macaulay Culkin's brother.

Signs is great fun - I've watched it a fair few times. The scene where Joaquin Phoenix is watching the news is done so well. But yes, the plot is daft. Swing away, Merrill!

I loved Signs back in 2002. Absolutely loved it. Now, I don't think I could bring myself to watch it again. Ever. The cringe level is extreme.


I just watched Rosaline with the wife. It's a sort of comedic alternative take on Romeo & Juliet, where Romeo's former love interest — Rosaline — briefly mentioned in Shakespeare's play, is (funnily enough) the protagonist. It's not as good as 2018's Ophelia, starring Daisy Ridley, which is an excellent "alternative Shakespeare" adaptation of Hamlet, but it was amusing enough. Not something I'd watch by myself, but something I could enjoy with the wife. I laughed out loud quite frequently.

[Animalmother]

I watched Signs for the first time the other night and enjoyed it I must say. It's silly, knows it's silly and just goes with it. The child actors are both surprisingly good and Phoenix watching the TV is hilarious.

[Alan]

Wicked (Part 1 )
The black lass has a fantastic voice its just a shame the songs are so lackluster and uninspired. I think they are the same as the songs from the stage show which I have never seen but I know is greatly beloved but man they are basic. The white lass (Ariana Grande apparently?) clearly has range but I find her highs earsplittingly annoying and man shes too skinny to the point that she looks unhealthy. What is more sad is that the black lass seems to have gotten horrifically skinny since filming like its a competition. Oh and Grande got 15 million where the other lass got 1mil which is a travesty because Grande is not the star.


It Happened On 5th Avenue 1947
Loved it. Hobo moves into a New York mansion when he knows the owners go away over christmas. More hobos move in as he poses as the mansions owner to hilarious and heartfelt consequences.

The Invisible Woman 1940
A woman agrees to be a guinea pig for a machine that makes her invisible so she can get revenge on her boss. Really enjoyed this too!

[Wrathbone]

Predestination

Intriguing time-travel sci-fi drama, only 90 minutes (I always appreciate a film that doesn't arbitrarily pad out the length), worth a watch. Best to go in blind as it's hard to discuss it without spoiling anything. I'm not entirely convinced by the ending, but it left me pondering the implications for a while.

Spoiler

The mechanics of how it all happened are fine (if deeply unsettling). What I'm not convinced by is how Jane/John inevitably becomes the bomber. It could have done with at least one more scene that gives some proper rationale beyond the psychosis angle due to too much time travel, because as it stands the ending is just "I hate the bomber!" / "Tough, you're going to become him!"

6/10

[Animalmother]

Enjoyable film alright. Sarah Snook is great in it.