The film thread.

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

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.

I don't think/sincerely hope you won't be disappointed!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Commitments on blu ray - Alan Parker's tale of a dysfunctional Dublin soul band. The contrast between the bands increasing in-fighting and their music coming to life works well, and the humour's great.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Vice - Christian Bale as ****^ Cheney in a satirical look at the Bush years. Great performances from Bale and Sam Rockwell, the former is almost unrecognisable as 'later years' Cheney.

^Not swearing, honestly - it's his name...

 

[davidf]

Vice - Christian Bale as ****^ Cheney in a satirical look at the Bush years. Great performances from Bale and Sam Rockwell, the former is almost unrecognisable as 'later years' Cheney.

^Not swearing, honestly - it's his name...

Really like that film (and Don’t Look Up), but prefer The Big Short.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Clemency - the always-excellent Alfre Woodard as the increasingly-troubled warden of a death row prison. Great performance from her.

 

[davidf]

Cold In July.

I do like this film, which has become a regular watch for me. Michael C. Hall plays a pretty good part, but he couldn’t quite compete with Sam Shepard and Don Johnson. Film aside, a nice John Carpenter inspired score by Jeff Grace.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

John Carpenter

Watched The Thing on 4k last night - love it, and the transfer's pretty good - I suspect if they'd been able to use CGI the effects would look less convincing with increased picture quality, but almost all of it looks better than ever, and even weirder!

 

[davidf]

Watched The Thing on 4k last night - love it, and the transfer's pretty good - I suspect if they'd been able to use CGI the effects would look less convincing with increased picture quality, but almost all of it looks better than ever, and even weirder!

When I had both the British Arrow and American Shout Factory Blurays (which both looked different), it looked so good, I couldn’t imagine a 4K version being much better. But when I got it, I was gobsmacked. It just looks stunning.

Shout Factory have been releasing their 4K versions of John Carpenter over the past couple of years (They Live, The Fog etc), mostly those that were previously released by Studiocanal, which looked better than the Blurays, but I was never fully convinced by. The Shout Factory ones are using higher bit rate for the picture, and are noticeably better than the Studiocanal ones. I’m hoping they’ll do the same for The Thing. Even though that was a Universal release, they’ve released The Thing a few times now. If they can make it look a little bit better….

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Tried to watch The Seventh Seal last night - an unwatched film deemed a classic. Couldn't get on with it, and at the point where there was still an hour left, I abandoned it. Was also rather disappointed with Citizen Kane when I watched that a few years ago. I'd like to think I'm not vacuous enough as to dismiss things just because they are old (and I get on fine with It's a Wonderful Life, for example), but I found TSS and CK very hard to relate to.

 

[DCarmi]

Citizen Kane

Interesting! I'll admit to not watching Kane for a while now but I found a lot of relevancy to modern times in it. You still get the powerful and wealthy with their megalomania and penchant for extravagance. You can see people like Murdoch, Trump and Musk in that character. Just look at the images of Musk as he walked into the Twitter offices with a kitchen sink! Pure Kane, in my opinion.

I think Trump especially fits that role quite well. Swap the zoo for golf courses with gold embossed, fake coats of arms and Xanadu for Mar-a-Lago. Then you have the Trump lackies who are expendable, just like in Kane. The trophy wives, both have locked down . Even Trumps demeanor seems to be modelled on Kane, i.e. aggressive over-confidence and lots of macho pointing in hustings . I don't know if Trump has a sled, though.

Personally, first time I watched it donkeys years ago, I was unaware of its kudos as supposedly the greatest film ever made, but I was entranced by it. Time I dug it out again, methinks.

 

[davidf]

Only watched Citizen Kane for the first time in 2015 - I was bowled over by it, especially as Welles was about 25 when he wrote/made it. Ive pretty much watched it every year since. It has an air of David Fincher about it (which is something for a film that’s over 80 years old), so must surely be some sort of influence on him.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Fully prepared to accept it's me out of sync - though interestingly we watched it as part of a film-loving group and none of us was bowled over.

 

[DCarmi]

Fully prepared to accept it's me out of sync

No criticism was intended! I fully accept that there are films I like that others don't and that is perfectly OK.
Personally, I do agree with you on the Seventh Seal. I never managed to get through that film, after several attempts.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

No criticism was intended!

Don't worry - I didn't read it that way at all.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The 2016 remake of The Jungle Book on 4k - enjoyed it rather more than expected, and the CGI is just stellar.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Fifth Element on 4k - love it. Bruce Willis was underrated as an actor - great performances in Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, 12 Monkeys etc, so it's a shame what's happened to him. I always think it's a pity that Gary Oldman hated his role in this, because it's wonderful.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Chicken Run - peak claymation, and The Exorcist, both on blu ray. The latter is a much better film than I originally thought.

 

[WayneKerr]

Currently watching Everything Everywhere All At Once, on prime.... how many Oscars did this win? I'm one hour in and I just don't get it at all and I'm about to turn it off. It's a B movie!

Not gonna spoil it for y'all, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. If anyone gets all the way through it can you let me know if it gets better in the last hour, ta.

 

[davidf]

Currently watching Everything Everywhere All At Once, on prime.... how many Oscars did this win? I'm one hour in and I just don't get it at all and I'm about to turn it off. It's a B movie!

Not gonna spoil it for y'all, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. If anyone gets all the way through it can you let me know if it gets better in the last hour, ta.

I turned it off after about two hours. I just couldn’t get into it, which may have been because I missed some information or something, but I’ll revisit it again when I’m in the right mood, now I know what I’m getting into!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Does seem to be a polariser - I've heard it's a new favourite film from someone and that the humour is deeply rubbish from another - and both are people whose opinions I don't readily dismiss.

 

[WayneKerr]

I turned it off after about two hours. I just couldn’t get into it, which may have been because I missed some information or something, but I’ll revisit it again when I’m in the right mood, now I know what I’m getting into!

Thanks, David. I can normally follow plots quite well but this film is just crazy and doubt I'll bother watching it all the way through. Maybe it's not for my generation but still can't believe it swept the board at the Oscars!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Brothers Grimm - a way off being peak Gilliam (apparently there were massive problems between him and the Wiensteins so the film falls between two stools), but enjoyable nonetheless.

Hard to believe that the guy playing the torturer is the same actor (Peter Stormare) who plays Steve Buscemi's monosyllabic, menacing sidekick in Fargo.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Breakfast Club - John Hughes's best work, and a film I've seen more often than I can remember. Still great, though.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Fisher King - Gilliam much closer to his very best.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

In the Heat of the Night on 4k* - still powerful after all these years, and a supremely dignified performance from Sidney Poitier.

*Strangely enough, not in any HDR format.