"Now Showing"

[gavin]

Just saw Doctor Strange as well. It was good. Yeah it looked great. Not much else to say really. I needed to pee so didn't bother sitting for another hour to get to the final, final extra scene. About half of the audience waited. The other half are, like me, sick of this s**t now. No doubt that was the best part and I've ruined my life.

 

[peep]

A Street cat named Bob

I really liked this film based off the book, based on the actual guy who randomly got a cat which basically saved his life. It's a really heart warming film and it stars a cat and cats are awesome.


The Accountant

I found this a bit predictable but I still enjoyed it. Annoyingly there was a bunch of three girls who were super loud the whole way through, was quite distracting, they were like Brenda in Scary Movie (look it up on youtube but I'll note it's NSFW).

 

[gavin]

Inferno

It was alright, but suffers from the same problems as the other two in the series that have been filmed in that there's a bit too much squeezed in, and rather than the "puzzle" focus of the books, they turn more into action films. Don't get me wrong, the books are trash, but I actually quite enjoy them as an easy read and they're actually pretty engrossing. They don't work very well as films though I guess.

The Shallows

Pretty poor to be honest, but that was to be expected. Not much else to say about it really.

 

[gavin]

The Girl on the Train

We got this pretty late here. It annoys me when that happens, so i tend to just hold off a bit longer and watch stuff when it's released on DVD, but I really liked the book and there's nothing else on at the moment, so wanted to see it.

I'm not sure why they felt they had to move the whole story to New York instead of London since it really makes no difference with regards to anything, but maybe it was just easier to film that way I guess. As to be expected, elements of the plot have to be condensed, so parts of the start of the book, which were quite important reveals, were just laid out right from the outset in the film, but it still managed to keep the same dark mood thanks to the way it was filmed.

The cast were great. Emily Blunt's always good, but the supporting cast were also excellent.

So yeah, I really liked it. If you've got a low attention span and think that a film needs to be full of action, 30-second scenes from start to finish and changes in camera shot every 3 seconds - in other words, if you're a bit thick - then you probably wouldn't like it.

 

[punks]

Dr. Strange

Benny Cumbersnatch turns in a performance that skillfully forces the audience to both hate and belove him within the timeframe of the movie, a more uncommon commodity in the game these days.

It has all the caveats of your typical movie within the MCU and more wherein the visuals are well worth the extra 3D money you most definitely should throw at it.

Though the plot is sometimes rushed and the reasoning a bit lackadaisical, the cast of characters deliver a very much different tasting Marvel movie that to my surprise; aligns very well with the parallel goings on within its universe.

Next time though Marvel, leave the tedium of pop-culture references at the door.

7.5/10

 

[Bat Fastard]

Hacksaw Ridge
I absolutely love war movies and this one was phenomenal. Andrew Garfield did a great job potraying Desmond Doss, a medic in WWII who was opposed to violence and even touching a gun. You really feel and care for this character. And how about the war scenes? Well, it is a Mel Gibson film. There was no holding back, the war scenes are absolutely brutal in this movie, very gory. Kept me on the edge of my seat and I enjoyed the whole movie. I highly recommend it.

 

[gavin]

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The whole Harry Potter thing has mostly passed me by since giving up after the first two books, but since this pretty much stands alone, I thought it give it a go.

If you're going to bother, do it in Imax 3D since the visuals are all it's really got going for it to be honest. It's otherwise all quite tedious, especially Eddie f**cking Redmayne, who's as dreadful in this as he is in every other film he's ruined with his mere presence.

 

[peep]

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

I really enjoyed this, loved all the creatures. Characters were a bit meh, apart from Dan Fogler's character, he was a great bit of comic relief throughout. I'm intrigued as to where they'll go next with this new chain of films.

 

[Chris Brown]

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

Really enjoyed this, Im a potter fan so was curious to see if there was to be any link between the films but it was very minimal with the occasional background of a character mentioning names and places. The film itself has some very dark creepy moments but these worked well to form a thrilling atmosphere. It wasn't as enchanting as the potter films but its set in New York so what do you expect. I enjoyed the characters, Kowalski was very likable, Alison sudol did an excellent job of playing the ditsy but incredibly sexy blonde, agreed with Gavin RE Eddie Redmayne though, I'm not sure if its him i find annoying or the characters he's cast as that annoy me?

 

[gavin]

^ Definitely him. Every film he's in, it's all affected mannerisms over actual acting. Someone somewhere has told him he's amazing, he's believed them, and Hollywood has fallen for it. He's f**king s**te.

 

[peep]

Got to see an early preview of Moana yesterday, the latest from Disney animation. It's absolutely beautiful, like, gorgeous to look at. The soundtrack is really good too with some great songs. I enjoyed every moment of it even if bits feel a bit too familiar.

Arrival

I was really looking forward to this. It's a brilliant concept but it's so pretentious. Everything is overly drawn out, the way it's shot at times is just annoying, just trying to be arty for the sake of it. The cast are amazing though and I enjoyed bits of it, really didn't see the twist coming at all. Urgh, I just wish it wasn't so up it's own backside.

 

[Bat Fastard]

Arrival
I liked it, good concept, but damn it was a mind **** in some scenes. I thought it was kinda hard to follow in a few sequences and towards the end.

 

[tomahawk]

Fantastic Beasts

It was missing something. Visually it was great, but missed something story wise.

Bad Santa 2

Crude, foul, offensive, hilarious. It was **** but I laughed my ass off.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[PeskyTrimBrake]

Fantastic Beasts

It was missing something. Visually it was great, but missed something story wise.

Couldn't agree more.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Was it a bad movie? No. Was it fantastic? No. I would say disappointing to say the least. Casting wasn't the best either. The VFX were there and they were great though. Hopefully the future movies will be better.

 

[ThomVD]

Some films I've seen in cinema recently:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
I'd have to agree with the others that it's more flash than substance. It's a really enjoyable film with some fab moments, but overall it's not that memorable. The muggle dude was awesome though. I also feel that aside from a few references, it didn't really have a Harry Potter atmosphere at all. It had very little to do with it really. 3/5

Hacksaw Ridge
Hadn't heard of it before my friend dragged me to this film. What a surprise though! It's an excellent war film, one of the best of the past years. The first half has many similarities with Full Metal Jacket, while the second half has Saving Private Ryan-style war scenes (equal in realism and intensity). I actually prefer it over FMJ because the second half is much better. Fantastic cast as well. I could see this ending up being one of my fave films of 2016. 4/5

Tangled
There was a special Disney month at my local cinema so I got the chance to see this film on the big screen. Frozen is quite possibly my fave Disney film and I hadn't seen this before so the expectations were very high. It still blew me away. Visually and artistically it's probably the most stunning animated film ever made. The scene with the lanterns was just a feast to the eyes, and everything is detailed, stylish and colourful. The characters are wonderful (Rapunzel <3) and the entire film is full of hilarious, charming, tearjerking and beautiful moments. Has to be one of the most magical films ever made. I still think Frozen has a better story, characters and music, but this is almost as good. Bring on Moana! 5/5

Inferno
Let me start of by saying that I haven't read any of the books or seen the other films of the series. I really enjoyed this though. It has an exciting story and some gorgeous locations. Not sure how I feel about the plot-twist towards the end, but overall I had a good time watching it. 3/5

The Girl on the Train
I've heard some bad things about it but my friend recommended it so I gave it a watch. Again, I really liked it. At first I had no idea where the story was going and wasn't sure how to feel about the film, but the more it goes on the more interesting it gets. It has a really dark mood with some interesting twists and characters. Really decent film. Cast was great as well. 3/5

 

[gavin]

Your Name

A Japanese anime that was apparently huge in Japan and is getting a lot of attention here as well. It was excellent. A bit of a headf**k in places, with a less-than-surprising ending, but still a gorgeous film. Definitely recommended.

Shut In

A decent enough thriller. Well, a bit crap really with no massive twists and turns, but watchable enough rubbish.

Off topic, but just found out that we're getting Moana stupidly late. Like, two months from now when China already have it. I was watching Graham Norton and noticed that the UK is only just getting Sully and Snowden this weekend, when they've been and gone here months ago. I'll never understand how release dates work. Sigh...

 

[furie]

Fantastic Beasts
Same as everyone I think - generally underwhelmed. I thought the creatures were generally quite poorly made/animated - a big problem for a film centred around them. Eddie Redmayne was on the one hand a stuttering fool, and on the this confident hero. There was no middle ground and his characterisation never once hinted there was a connective person sitting between the two extremes of character. He was hard to like and that made the film difficult. In fact, apart from Kowalski and Queenie, I didn't find any of the characters really anything at all. There just didn't seem to be the depth that the other films/books had. Story was also very light and it never really was clear if the film was about Graves or the creature hunt. It was just a bit muddled.

However...

I also feel that aside from a few references, it didn't really have a Harry Potter atmosphere at all. It had very little to do with it really.

It certainly didn't have the atmosphere, but it actually had masses to do with the Harry Potter world. I don't think the magical world in the real New York worked, simply because it wasn't a great set and they just spent most of their time destroying the place and rebuilding it (badly animatedly)

For me though, this series is really exciting. The time period it covers (if you've read the books and a little further on Pottermore and the like) is really interesting. It's essentially leading to the making of Dumbledore as a great wizard and I imagine will show the start of Tom Riddle too.

I hate films where you need to know the stuff surrounding the story to appreciate it - and I won't excuse the film its faults because I've got a little more vested interest in the story arcs -but for me it's the start of an exciting journey in the world. So while it was a slow and poor opening t the new story, I think there's going to be lots going on.

Or the entire thing is going to be a damp squib and the tale is best left on the scattered pages of the books and other sources with the interesting things filled in by your own imagination... Bit Star Wars really

Anyway, meh , 3/5

 

[peep]

Saw Moana again at an unlimited card screening. Still one of my favourite films of the year. I spent the entirety of last week listening to the soundtrack on repeat while at work. It's fab.


A United Kingdom

I really liked this film, I felt they didn't really set up either character very well at the beginning, almost a little rushed to get to the actual plot. However the story is great and the acting is excellent. Overall a solid historical drama.

 

[PeskyTrimBrake]

Moana
Good movie but had some flaws that are typical to a Walt Disney Animation film. I'm gonna separate it to make it easier to explain:

-Animation: Some scenes also used my favorite method of animation known as the Meander System which combines 2D animation with CGI models (like Paperman). These scenes were very reminiscent of early Disney animation and they were great. Character Design was cliched and done before many times. The effects however were good **** especially in the slow mo scene of her walking.
-Characters: The two main characters are very well developed but why the **** was the pig there? The marketing seemed as if it had a bigger role but then I remembered: MERCHANDISE. Look, there is really nothing bad with adding a character for the sake of merchandise but GIVE IT A RELEVANT ROLE! Same **** goes for Frozen's Olaf and Zootopia's Gazelle.
-Story: Fantastic storywriting with brilliant lore behind it. Would have loved it if we could learn more about the lore though.
-Voice Acting: Very good casting choices. Moana had by far the best voice actress in the move. The Rock was ok but really wasnt expecting much. I , however was impressed with Maui's musical number on the island which is by far my fave song from movie.

Final Verdict:
I really would want to see Disney Animation branch to other genres of movies kind of what they did with Big Hero 6 and Wreck it Ralph. Animated musicals have taken their toll in the 90s. Should this win the Oscar? No. Was it better than Zootopia? Absolutely. Hopefully Pixar can lead the way for Disney exploring other genres with with their brilliant animation.

 

[gavin]

Hercules is "early Disney animation" now?