I Just Watched (Films)

[Animalmother]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Finally got around to watching this and very much enjoyed it. A wee bit long winded in places but its a Tarantino film so thats to be expected. It wasn't what I expected it to be which was a pleasant surprise, amazed I managed to keep it spoiler free. Pitt and DiCaprio were great and loved the interactions with real actors of the period, Damian Lewis was a dead ringer for Steve McQueen.
Its not going to be a film for everyone but definitely worth a watch.

[Animalmother]

The Meg
You may have heard this was a huge steaming pile of shit. You heard correctly, avoid at all costs.

[Achtung Englander]

noted

[Achtung Englander]

Capernaum
A masterful film that is punch in the gut and yet have moments of humour and levity. This is the most successful film from the Middle East and it follows the story of a 12 year old in the poor back streets of Lebanon. Played by a non-actor who actually lived this life, this is an amazing film. What this kid says at the end is both heartbreaking and completely insightful.
9/10

Framing Britney Spears
A so-so documentary on how Britney Spears ended up in a conservatorship, ie, she has no control over her life or finances. Her dad is her conservator and looks like he first did from love to protect his daughter, but is keeping her under his lordship as the money rolled in when she began to recover. Its OK as doc, could be longer and more in-depth.
5/10

[Animalmother]

Psycho Goreman
Two kids discover an evil alien warlord buried in their garden and manage to take control of him. This is one of the strangest films I've seen in a while. Uses mostly practical effects, has Power Ranger style alien costumes, buckets of gore and kids as the main characters. By no means amazing but definitely worth a watch. Stupid fun.

[Alan]

Well that sold me.


I Care A Lot
Rosamund Pike is ripping off the earlerly but crosses a line when she rips of the mother of one of the most feared gangsters around, Peter Dinklage. I thought this was quite enjoyable, pretty dark but its fun too.

Coming To America
Still fantastic, all the laughs and heart any film needs. I have no faith in the sequel though. ;_;

Houdini
I mean Janet Leigh is pretty but Tony Curtis is beautiful! No wonder he pulls of being a woman so well in Some Like It Hot. Films decent, not great, you can do worse.

[Achtung Englander]

Once Upon A Time In America (Amazon Prime)

9/10 A masterful film. The set production is just amazing. I got the feeling they do not make films like this anymore. It was 3 hours 45 min long and I could of watched another hour. The story is wonderful but I did find the last 20 minutes was the weakest part of the movie. The narrative arc of these bunch of gangsters is really strong and I really liked the whole aspect of the ambiguous ending. I saw this film 10 years ago and upon re-watching now it has lost none of the magic.

[Wrathbone]

Coming To America
Still fantastic, all the laughs and heart any film needs. I have no faith in the sequel though. ;_;

Halfway through the sequel. I had low expectations and it’s limboed right under them. Total shite.

[Animalmother]

Boss Level
A man is forced to relive the same day over and over while being hunted (and repeatedly killed) by a group of hitmen. Sounds like a load of shite but it's great fun. Some of the deaths are hilarious and the action is often ridiculously over the top. The same scene is repeated dozens of times while he learns to live a little longer and casually avoids bullets, fists and explosions without paying attention. From the people who made Smokin' Aces so same level of insanity mixed with Groundhog Day. Main actor is great and has an increasingly jaded monologue as he restarts the day. A surprisingly good comedy action flick that they just don't seem to make anymore. ( Also has Mel Gibson as the bad guy...)

[Raid]

3:10 To Yuma (2007)

Another classic western remake starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. It's.... not bad. I'm not a particularly big fan of Crowe which didn't help, but there's something I can't quite put my finger on that I didn't like about it. I didn't find any of the characters particularly memorable (which is impressive when Alan Tudyk plays one of them). The villain is talked up to be this downright evil man but you never see any of it; he's calm and softly spoken, and

Spoiler

the ending has him cooperating with the hero for reasons that don't really make sense for a character with that backstory. Dan mentions that his son is ill, and suddenly this ruthless gang leader stops trying to be rescued by his gang, and actually shoots half of them dead? Wha? He then voluntarily gets on the train that will take him to prison to ensure that Dan's family are paid as agreed. It's too big a change in character for which I don't think enough motivation is given.

I don't think I'd recommend this one.

[Alan]

Coming 2 America
I didn’t hate it. For something that’s 30% predictable, 17% product placement, 50% name dropping and 3% laughs it could have been much worse. The outfit design is pretty amazing and the callbacks to the first film were fun(mostly). It’s not good and I’ll never want to watch it again but I was expecting so much worse!

Also in a world where Bill and Ted 3 exists it’s a fucking masterpiece.

[Achtung Englander]

You get a sense they made this film to pay for a house or something....

[Animalmother]

Blue Ruin
A thriller from the director that made Green Room and Hold the Dark. A man finds out the guy who murdered his parents is being released from jail and decides to kill him. If you've seen his other films you know what your in for, someone out of their depth that quickly escalates into quick brutal violence and a grim sad story. Well worth a look.

[Achtung Englander]

Remember (Amazon Prime)

Superb film with some fantastic acting from the Chris Plummer who is sadly missed. I recommend it. It is only 90 minutes long and definitely worth seeing.

8/10

TCM repeated Operation: Daybreak. Although its in crappy SD, this is one of my all time favourite war movies. So tragic.

8/10

[Raid]

We Were Soldiers

I had very fond memories of this one, which I doubt I've seen since its Sky Movies premier in the mid 2000s. I suspect my changing attitudes to war in general have somewhat coloured my enjoyment of a film that pays lip service to the horrors of a conflict that should be remembered for its pointlessness, while still covering the screen with waving American flags and enough hero worship to create a religion. It's as cliched as war movies come; the new father tragically dies, an adorable child asks its father what a war is, the wives left at home all group together in solidarity, the commanding officer is the first on the battlefield and the last to leave. It's the cinematic definition of "pathos". Imagine if Saving Private Ryan was a b-movie, it's pretty much that. Mel Gibson is no Tom Hanks.

Admittedly my opinions of the film were likely affected by learning of the death of a childhood hero immediately prior to watching, but this is not something I'd recommend revisiting.