The film thread.

[davidf]

Bram Stoker's Dracula on 4k - too grainy for my liking, and a mix between some sublime moments and some ridiculous accents.

I picked this up on 4K recently. I wasn’t going to upgrade to the 4K, but got the opportunity to get it rather cheap, something like £5/6 or something.

I want to really like this film. I’ve always been interested in the Dracula story ever since I was a very small kid - I was brought up on Hammer horror and the classic Universal monster movies. I used to draw these monsters all the time, and even got a Dracula drawing on TV in Tony Hart’s Gallery…

I want to like it because it’s Gary Oldman, one of the finest actors Britain has today. If not, THE finest. But the film is spoiled by some accents and being overly stylish in places, even if there are some great visuals here and there. Must be getting on for a good ten years since I’ve seen it.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I want to like it because it’s Gary Oldman, one of the finest actors Britain has today.

He's a talent, isn't he? Hopkins is OTT and seems to be channeling Hannibal Lecter in places, and the Americans can't carry the accents. Having accepted these things, it's easier to just get on and enjoy the film as much as its failings allow. Tom Waits is pretty good as Renfield, I think.

I didn't pay that much for it either!

 

[davidf]

He's a talent, isn't he? Hopkins is OTT and seems to be channeling Hannibal Lecter in places, and the Americans can't carry the accents. Having accepted these things, it's easier to just get on and enjoy the film as much as its failings allow. Tom Waits is pretty good as Renfield, I think.

I didn't pay that much for it either!

I’ve said before, the man’s a chameleon.

I’ve always hated hearing bad accents in films - mostly Americans trying to do British, and British trying to do American. For me, it’s a big part of being a top notch actor. I first saw Christian Bale in American Psycho, and not at any point did I think he was a British actor - I thought he was American!

Always liked Tom Waits in films. A convincing actor, although I don’t recall his performance in this film.

I thought I’d bought it on disc, but I didn’t - I actually picked it up on iTunes in 4K for £2.99. I wouldn’t have paid any more that that really, especially given that I bought a previous Bluray, and the Superbit DVD way back!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy on blu ray - replaced from DVDs as the box set was so cheap. I think there's a fair amount to admire, but I'm not sure they work as well for someone like me who has never (and never intends to) read the book. Too long for me, too much in the way of battle scenes, too much loud music. But I suspect they hit the spot for those who'd been waiting for so long for a film adaptation.

 

[davidf]

Never get bored of watching The Nice Guys. Ryan Gosling is surprisingly good at comedy, and I’ve grown to like Russell Crowe over the past ten years or sok he’s done some good films - this, State Of Play, and the recent Unhinged, which I didn’t know what to expect from the film, but watching the extras, he brought quite a lot to the role of ‘road rage man’.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Queen and Country, John Boorman's (decidedly) belated follow-on to Hope and Glory. Not as good, but still very enjoyable.

 

[Alantiggger]

Hopkins

Let's Get Real Here, 'Hopkins ' IS ' Hopkins '...... NO Matter WHAT Movie he is in.
It's the same acting, no matter the ROLE he is playing.

 

[davidf]

Let's Get Real Here, 'Hopkins ' IS ' Hopkins '...... NO Matter WHAT Movie he is in.
It's the same acting, no matter the ROLE he is playing.

I do like Magic though. As good as any role he’s played. I tend to prefer actors who can not only act, but can successfully pull off accents too.

 

[davidf]

Calvary. 9/10

Never fails to entertain every time I watch it. A drama with a bit of dark comedy thrown in, following a priest in a small village in Ireland, trying to deal with the modern day sins of the very people that attend his church. Beautiful scenery. I’m guessing the writer and director (John Michael McDonagh) isn’t a religious man, or maybe once was, as past abuse within the Catholic Church is an underlying theme - he likes to get his digs in. Some might find the various topics covered a little depressing, but the humour is enough to offset that, along with some of the quirky characters.

Ive probably mentioned this before, but his other film, The Guard (a comedy) is also well worth watching, along with the films of his brother, Martin McDonagh - In Bruges, The Banshees Of Inisherin, and his two films based in the US, Seven Psychopths and Three Billboards.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Not seen that - sounds interesting.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Lighthouse - well acted by Defoe and Pattinson, but a strangely unsatisfying experience.

 

[davidf]

The Lighthouse - well acted by Defoe and Pattinson, but a strangely unsatisfying experience.

Yeah, not one I feel like revisiting!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Yeah, not one I feel like revisiting!

One of the reviews quoted in the Wikipedia entry describes it as all atmosphere and no story.

 

[plastic penguin]

Calvary. 9/10

Never fails to entertain every time I watch it. A drama with a bit of dark comedy thrown in, following a priest in a small village in Ireland, trying to deal with the modern day sins of the very people that attend his church. Beautiful scenery. I’m guessing the writer and director (John Michael McDonagh) isn’t a religious man, or maybe once was, as past abuse within the Catholic Church is an underlying theme - he likes to get his digs in. Some might find the various topics covered a little depressing, but the humour is enough to offset that, along with some of the quirky characters.

Ive probably mentioned this before, but his other film, The Guard (a comedy) is also well worth watching, along with the films of his brother, Martin McDonagh - In Bruges, The Banshees Of Inisherin, and his two films based in the US, Seven Psychopths and Three Billboards.

From how you described it, it has a whiff of a modern Ryan's Daughter.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Wild Rose on blu ray* - a combination of gritty and feelgood that works pretty well (if not completely so). About a Scottish woman released from prison trying to get her life back and make a go of being a country singer. I don't generally care for country music (with one or two exceptions), but Jessie Buckley's voice is superb, and there's great support from Sophie Okonedo and Julie Walters.

*Quite why some films only get a DVD release in their country of origin baffles me when they are available in others - my copy is French...

 

[plastic penguin]

Watched 'Ray' on DVD. Really fascinating film, beautifully played by Jamie Foxx.

Forgotten I had this film until yesterday loitering at the bottom of the DVD storage unit.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Watched 'Ray' on DVD. Really fascinating film, beautifully played by Jamie Foxx.

Forgotten I had this film until yesterday loitering at the bottom of the DVD storage unit.

I'm rather partial to a bit of Ray Charles - Foxx's performance is uncannily good. Must watch that again at some point.

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm rather partial to a bit of Ray Charles - Foxx's performance is uncannily good. Must watch that again at some point.

Me too.

The DVD is now sitting at front of the cabinet.

Charles had such a convoluted life, some indiscretions I didn't even know about until I first watched the film years ago.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Me too.

The DVD is now sitting at front of the cabinet.

Charles had such a convoluted life, some indiscretions I didn't even know about until I first watched the film years ago.

His biography, Brother Ray, is well worth a read. Proper warts and all.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - love the books and the old TV series, despite the latter's decidedly shonky special effects. It was an age before I first got around to watching the film, and didn't dislike it as much as I'd expected to. Re-watched last night, and whilst it's good to see the (loose) story made with a budget, and generally with better actors, it feels like none of the cast really 'inhabits' their characters as well as they did in the TV series. Even Alan Rickman and Helen Mirren fail to carry Marvin and Deep Thought as well as was done in the series - to say nothing of Martin Freeman being too calm and collected to carry Arthur Dent. A missed opportunity really.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Unforgiven on 4k - I'm not much for the western genre really, but this is Eastwood's best work.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Monty Python's Life of Brian* on blu ray - if there is a cleverer comedy out there, I haven't seen it.

*Cleverer than me, I hope. Not sure what The Life of Brain would entail, which is what I typed first...

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Can You Ever Forgive Me? on blu ray* - the story of a failed, alcoholic writer who resorted to forging letters from dead celebrities, Melissa McCarthy very ably supported by Richard E. Grant. Low key, but very watchable and based on a true story.

*Poor transfer though - bright scenes were fine, but darker ones had a pulsing effect, which blotted out detail in fabrics etc. Never seen anything like it.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Man Who Wasn't There on blu ray - I'm not a massive Coen brothers fan, but this and Fargo are great films.

 

[davidf]

The Man Who Wasn't There on blu ray - I'm not a massive Coen brothers fan, but this and Fargo are great films.

I do like Inside Llewelyn Davis, Burn After Reading, Fargo, Miller’s Crossing, The Big Lebowski, and one of my favourite films, No Country For Old Men. I’ve not seen The Man Who Wasnt There yet, so I’ll dig that out as soon as I can.