The film thread.

[12th Monkey]

An American Werewolf in London - having visited Crickadarn where the pub exterior (and the rest of East Proctor) was filmed, it'd have been rude not to.

Withnail & I. Just love it. To my mind the most quotable film ever made.

 

[hifi]

So whts the the best film out right now and why?

 

[davidf]

So whts the the best film out right now and why?

Depends on your tastes, but presumably Oppenheimer. I’m going to see it this week. Saw MI: Dead Reckoning last week - not as good as Fallout, but if action is your thing, maybe that.

 

[12th Monkey]

The Predator - what a difference the definite article makes. Switched off towards the end.

 

[12th Monkey]

Cool Runnings - lovely film - though the blu ray was steep as it was a limited run.

 

[davidf]

I don’t feel there’s any spoilers here, but don’t read if you want to “go in blind”.

So Oppenheimer was a slightly mixed bag for me. I’m not overly keen on Nolan’s “highlights” approach to film making. Even though his films are usually pretty long, he still puts in scenes which feel like highlights, conveying important bits, but not necessarily stuff he wants to linger on. For me, it just feels rushed, and it can mean taking in a lot of information very quickly. Personally, I’d rather the film be 4 or 5 hours and have those snippets played out naturally, maintaining the pace of the rest of the film. But that’s just me. He did the same with his final two Batman movies.

Other than that, amazing film. Cillian Murphy is brilliant, almost upstaged by a great British actor I won’t mention as I don’t know he was in it until he briefly popped up on screen. I didn’t even recognise Robert Downey Jr in his first scene, who was brilliant as usual. Got to say, the whole cast is great, nobody lets the film down, even Josh Hartnett (who has never been a particularly good actor in anything I’ve seen him in) who I also didn’t recognise straight away as most of the films I’ve seen him in, he’s much younger. All of a sudden he’s a man and can actually act! Nice to see Tom Conti as Albert Einstein, which I haven’t seen in a film since The Dark Knight Rises 11 years ago.

I’d seen reports online that the last hour dragged - ignore that, that’s only for those wanting car chases and explosions. It’s all dialogue, but for a reason, and for me is the best part of the film - reminding me of the tense and gripping lengthy court room scene in Anatomy For A Murder.

It’ll certainly be a demo disc, but not for the reasons most dealers would choose it for (explosions). There’s a number of scenes where there’s a low, threatening, throbbing rumble in the background, and instances of cutting between two different scenes, which will test a system’s ability to “stop and start” instantly. The subs in the IMAX screen certainly couldn’t cope with it…

9.5/10

 

[12th Monkey]

So Oppenheimer was a slightly mixed bag for me. I’m not overly keen on Nolan’s “highlights” approach to film making.

I'm interested to see how Nolan handles what ('m guessing) is a more conventional story than usual. Watched Tenet last night and whilst I enjoyed it, I think his approach to making films doesn't entirely work for me - I think he struggles with the more emotional side of storytelling, and puts a little too much emphasis on the cerebral. Given how much dumb cinema there is it feels churlish to say so!

 

[davidf]

I'm interested to see how Nolan handles what ('m guessing) is a more conventional story than usual. Watched Tenet last night and whilst I enjoyed it, I think his approach to making films doesn't entirely work for me - I think he struggles with the more emotional side of storytelling, and puts a little too much emphasis on the cerebral. Given how much dumb cinema there is it feels churlish to say so!

I’ve got Tenet, but haven’t watched it as yet.

 

[Alantiggger]

Cool Runnings - lovely film - though the blu ray was steep as it was a limited run.

This film was GREAT on normal tv, back in the day.

 

[12th Monkey]

Parasite on 4k - not seen it before and I think it'll need a second viewing to properly form an opinion. I did enjoy it, but it's sometimes hard to watch something so critically lauded and feel completely satisfied.

 

[davidf]

Parasite on 4k - not seen it before and I think it'll need a second viewing to properly form an opinion. I did enjoy it, but it's sometimes hard to watch something so critically lauded and feel completely satisfied.

Been meaning to give it a second viewing - and when I do, I’m tempted to watch the black and white version.

 

[12th Monkey]

The 1989 Batman on 4k - Nicholson's cleary having a ball as The Joker, but the effects look pretty poor even allowing for the film's age. The set where the bat-plane crashes looks like it was made by schoolchildren.

Apparently someone who worked at McLaren Automotive was called Wayne Bruce. Any guesses as to his nickname...?

 

[12th Monkey]

Star Wars 4/5/6 on 4k - the original and still the best, though I do rate Rogue One.

 

[davidf]

Star Wars 4/5/6 on 4k - the original and still the best, though I do rate Rogue One.

Bought the 4K set from Amazon. Even though I’m not a huge fan, I thought I could sit down one day and just watch them all the way through, but not reading good things on the rest (other than Rogue One). Tempted to sell the disc set while it’s still sealed and just but them on a deal on iTunes. I’m guessing I’d only ever re-watch the original three anyway, especially if they ever get an “original” (not messed with) release so I can watch it how I originally saw it at the cinema in ‘77.

 

[12th Monkey]

(not messed with)

Lucas's sins are many.

 

[Jasonovich]

An American Werewolf in London - having visited Crickadarn where the pub exterior (and the rest of East Proctor) was filmed, it'd have been rude not to.

Withnail & I. Just love it. To my mind the most quotable film ever made.

Classic John Landis movie. I remember plucking up the courage and asking this girl out, it's the movie we saw in Central London. The movie was great but she told me after leaving the theatre, this wasn't going to work out! Was it the mention of USB cables, still at a lost today wondering what I might have said?

 

[12th Monkey]

The movie was great but she told me after leaving the theatre, this wasn't going to work out!

Isn't the advice that a film is a bad first date? You don't get to talk/know each other at all. Either that or it was a cable - if you were talking about USB that's spookily prescient...

 

[12th Monkey]

Jaws 2 on blu ray. Saw it as a kid and thought it as good as he original. Saw it years later and concluded it stank. Watching this time, it feels like a guile-less attempt to crib what was good in the original - not truly awful, but not a worthy sequel in any way.

 

[12th Monkey]

Time Bandits on 4k - another example of a film which gains not massively in picture quality, but significantly from HDR treatment. David Warner is just perfect as Evil.

 

[12th Monkey]

Grease on 4k - the most variable 4k transfer I've seen - some of the bright outdoors scenes are great, but other bits (such as Beauty School Dropout) look like poor quality DVD.

Not a fan of musicals generally, but do have a lot of affection for this. Less so for the theory that Sandy & Danny drowned at the beach and they are ascending to heaven at the end...

 

[Gray]

Sandy & Danny drowned at the beach and they are ascending to heaven at the end...

Spoiler ☹️
That's ruined any chance I had of ever watching that film 😆

 

[12th Monkey]

Spoiler ☹️
That's ruined any chance I had of ever watching that film 😆

I could argue that you've had ample time!

 

[Jasonovich]

It's not often I praise Netflix but recently they've had some quality series, yes I know, we're talking about best films here but indulge me!

The most recent additions like One Piece Japanese manga series written by Eiichiro Oda and adapted on the small screen were a visual delight and I hope there's a series 2 shortly.
Also just binge watched, the German thriller Dear Child, really dark.

There was an excellent Netflix movie also.................aaagh forgot the title, yes I have it,
Bird Box Barcelona, great horror fix.

 

[12th Monkey]

Relic from Beeb 1HD - a low budget Aussie horror(ish) that parallels the effects of dementia with possession. Not completely satisfying, but very creepy and claustrophobic in places.

Lamentable black depth from the Beeb, though.

 

[12th Monkey]

The Name of the Rose on blu ray. I gather that Umberto Eco was a bit sniffy about Sean Connery getting the lead role, but it works. Also makes me very appreciative to have been born when I was and not centuries ago. The world may have many flaws, but it's better than it was!