"Now Showing"
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tomahawk
Strata Poster
Ok, 1/10. There were also some nice boobies.
Those types of movies can go either one of two ways, they can be god awful the entire time, and make you want to punch a baby. OR it can pretty much be soft core porn (Hostel comes to mind) for about 65% of the movie, and then turn into straight gore. This, was the first one, but thats what I get for renting a movie that looks that horrible.
Those types of movies can go either one of two ways, they can be god awful the entire time, and make you want to punch a baby. OR it can pretty much be soft core porn (Hostel comes to mind) for about 65% of the movie, and then turn into straight gore. This, was the first one, but thats what I get for renting a movie that looks that horrible.
The Mechanic
Quite frankly I wasn't expecting much from this film, but I had some free Odeon vouchers and it was about the best of what was showing when I wanted to go.
I'm pleased to say I was surprised. Don't get me wrong, it's not got the plot of Inception, but it had enough to make it a reasonable film. It was standard Jason Statham action film, and I enjoy that sort of thing, so I liked it.
Overall, about 7.5/10, worth a watch.
Quite frankly I wasn't expecting much from this film, but I had some free Odeon vouchers and it was about the best of what was showing when I wanted to go.
I'm pleased to say I was surprised. Don't get me wrong, it's not got the plot of Inception, but it had enough to make it a reasonable film. It was standard Jason Statham action film, and I enjoy that sort of thing, so I liked it.
Overall, about 7.5/10, worth a watch.
Slayed
Hyper Poster
Right, I can see that I'm going to be in the minority here, but this needs to be done 
.
I watched Black Swan last week. In essence, it's rubbish.
I don't often find myself outside the concensus, so what's going on here? I shall explain. It may involve rude words.
I think that Aranofsky's overwhelming flash-and-bang delivery masks just how weak this underlying attempt at "Sturm und Drang" really is. It's like watching a Christmas Eastenders episode on acid, it's that histrionic - "loud" does not equate to "impressive".
The writing is so utterly immature, it's of a level you'd expect to find in the first week of a 'Script Writing 101' course being given to 14 year olds:-
The film is shot on 16mm. Why? Maybe for budget (it was only $13M), maybe Aranofsky just likes it, but blown up to 35mm anamorphic it looks dire. If I want to see grain the size of Wayne Roooney's head I'll shoot night footage on my iPhone. Hell my nephew's kiddie video camera looks better. This is a shame, as the cinematography is otherwise decent and often inventive (an Aranofsky trademark).
The only saving graces in this shouty mess are Portman and Kunis. Portman takes a one-note character and drags every inch of emotion out of it, managing in the process to make "bonkers woman" feel grounded and almost believable, which given the context is astonishing. This is balanced well by Kunis, whose Lily is the perfect foil for Nina to bounce off; she really should have gotten an Oscar nod too. And obvious kudos to them both for the dancing - very very impressive.
Oh, and the editing is very strong - in less capable hands it would make the film even more of a mess.
Ultimately though, the acting and bluster cannot disguise what is the most hysterical film in years, in every sense of the adjective.
Aranofsky has clearly been watching his Italian and Cronenbergian horror, taken all the excess and thrown it along with the entire kitchen sink at the screen, where it crashes spectacularly into childish bits. After the measured The Wrestler, this is a noisy step backwards.
.I watched Black Swan last week. In essence, it's rubbish.
I don't often find myself outside the concensus, so what's going on here? I shall explain. It may involve rude words.
I think that Aranofsky's overwhelming flash-and-bang delivery masks just how weak this underlying attempt at "Sturm und Drang" really is. It's like watching a Christmas Eastenders episode on acid, it's that histrionic - "loud" does not equate to "impressive".
The writing is so utterly immature, it's of a level you'd expect to find in the first week of a 'Script Writing 101' course being given to 14 year olds:-
- One dimensional characters - Nina has nothing going on beyond "unstable dancer". Her mother is just "mental". Leroy is "mean director". Beth is "embittered has-been". Only Lily has any kind of nuance, the rest are just screaming harpies.
- Trite and clichéd plotting - "Win At All Costs"; "Overbearing Parent"; "I'm Good/Bad/Mad"; boring boring boilerplate.
The "I'm Growing Wings!" was blindingly obvious from the first introduction, yet was dragged out to the end of the film with no attempt at originalily.
-
The use of a projected dark side manifested as a character - again plays out entirely as expected. Mirrors to "reflect" the character? Seen it all before.
- Sex. This was laughable - an adolescent w**k fantasy about being caught by your mum? Please.
-
As for the final line - "I felt it!" - oh come on. My cat can write a better ending than that in his litter tray.
The film is shot on 16mm. Why? Maybe for budget (it was only $13M), maybe Aranofsky just likes it, but blown up to 35mm anamorphic it looks dire. If I want to see grain the size of Wayne Roooney's head I'll shoot night footage on my iPhone. Hell my nephew's kiddie video camera looks better. This is a shame, as the cinematography is otherwise decent and often inventive (an Aranofsky trademark).
The only saving graces in this shouty mess are Portman and Kunis. Portman takes a one-note character and drags every inch of emotion out of it, managing in the process to make "bonkers woman" feel grounded and almost believable, which given the context is astonishing. This is balanced well by Kunis, whose Lily is the perfect foil for Nina to bounce off; she really should have gotten an Oscar nod too. And obvious kudos to them both for the dancing - very very impressive.
Oh, and the editing is very strong - in less capable hands it would make the film even more of a mess.
Ultimately though, the acting and bluster cannot disguise what is the most hysterical film in years, in every sense of the adjective.
Aranofsky has clearly been watching his Italian and Cronenbergian horror, taken all the excess and thrown it along with the entire kitchen sink at the screen, where it crashes spectacularly into childish bits. After the measured The Wrestler, this is a noisy step backwards.
Just watched Salo, an Italian film from the '70s that's based on a book I finally managed to finish reading a few days ago: the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom.
It's one of those "banned everywhere" films, but it was all very tame compared to the actual book if I'm honest.
I'd be surprised if, after reading that, anything manages to make me even raise as much as an eyebrow, let alone feel anything approaching shock anymore.
It's one of those "banned everywhere" films, but it was all very tame compared to the actual book if I'm honest.
I'd be surprised if, after reading that, anything manages to make me even raise as much as an eyebrow, let alone feel anything approaching shock anymore.
nadroJ
CF Legend
I've started reading some Sade, Gavin, after watching Quills. His stuff is brilliant, I'm a bit shocked reading it now so I can't imagine how it was received when it was actually written!
Salo is always one of those films which I have the intention of watching but never actually got around to it. Should I just read the book instead?
Salo is always one of those films which I have the intention of watching but never actually got around to it. Should I just read the book instead?
divvie_dave
Mega Poster
Tangled - Was really good, definately Disney's best "in house" CGI animation, and apart from the fact its not hand drawn, better than The Princess and the Frog imo, there are at least two memorable songs in there too. Shows that Disney need to stick to what they do best, fairy tales...
7.5/10
On a huge contrast, also watched Ninja Assassin. This was just a fun, gory ninja film. It does try to be something a bit more at points, but just watch it knowing that its gonna look fake, and ott... then your not disappointed, and its really fun
6/10
7.5/10
On a huge contrast, also watched Ninja Assassin. This was just a fun, gory ninja film. It does try to be something a bit more at points, but just watch it knowing that its gonna look fake, and ott... then your not disappointed, and its really fun
6/10
nadroJ said:
Yes and no really. It's unfinished (but still massively long) with only the introduction and first part fully written. The final three parts are written as an outline of what he's going to write about, so you still get the full "story" for want of a better word.
It's saying something when you get bored of reading page after page of things to do with poo and wanting him to get onto the harder stuff. I think that's kind of the point though?
Yeah, read it.
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Interesting read, Slayed. I very much loved Black Swan, but more on that later...
There has been a somewhat lack-of-Ciall in this thread in the last month, so nice to read people's views on films other than the usual dominance of me and peep
Prepare for a mega-post of most of the films I have watched in my absence, in no order whatsoever:
The Dilemma was ok, but was a bit thin on the ground. The storyline seemed dragged out, and could have easily been a sub-plot within another film, but was for some reason a massive feature film filler. Humour was there, and was smirk humour, and the acting was as you'd expect. It just didn't have much going for it at all, really...
5/10
Little Fockers turned out to be below my already low expectations. Simply awful. You could tell the film was made simply for money-snatching purposes, smirked only once or twice, brought nothing to the series and was a complete waste of an hour and a half. Avoid at all costs.
3/10
Henry's Crime - I wasn't sure about the film before I saw it, and was VERY surprised by it. It was witty, dark humoured, slow, but had an undescribable likeability factor. I dunno why, it just was really enjoyable and entertaining. I simply loved it, even though it wasn't amazing. It can only be explained by watching it yourself. Great film, pleased I watched it.
8/10
The Ward by John Carpenter. It very much had the JC style to it, much similar to his classic films with "jumpy" moments, false suspense etc. None of these mad me jump, but the person I was with was jumping like a mad-man (woman) bless her :') The plot itself was ok, and the ending was very Shutter Island in style, but it wasn't awful by any shot.
6.5/10
Vertigo. Once again, an amazing Hitchcock film which really does leave you breathless, and really isn't as dated at it should. Great twist, quirky ending, and simply a masterclass to watch.
9/10
The Fighter - It was good, granted, but not amazing. Boxing films always tend to get overrated in my opinion, and tend to get lots of awards at the awards ceremonies, and I must say that it was by no means boring at any point. Christian Bale was great as the supporting role, and really does challenge Geoffrey Rush for supporting actor awards. A good watch.
8/10
Black Swan was watched after I was nomming over it for a few months. It was very good - excellent performances, brilliantly shot and just amazing to watch. It really does stand out amongst the crowd and I can see why it's getting all the accolades it so richly deserves. Just pure brilliance (sorry Slayed)
9/10
Biutiful – excellent foreign langauge film. Touching, moving, excellent story and an all round good cinematic experience. Muchly enjoyed.
8/10
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Last year I watched the somewhat loosely related sequel (Get Him to the Greek) and found it to be complete tosh, however, FSM was actually very good. Humour mixed with a basic, but deeply enjoyable storyline, coupled with a (for once) tolerable Russell Brand led to me really enjoying the film.
7.5/10
Love and Other Drugs was quite good. It kind of felt like a soft porn film - LOTS of nudity from Anne Hathaway, and lots of sex scenes. I kind of felt that it could have been better without the humour, not as the humour wasn't funny, but as it was very sensitive film and could have been better shown without silly little gags every now and then. Nonetheless, enjoyable.
7/10
127 Hours - It was very good, had a lot of Boyle-esque camera work and features, was gripping and was very well made. The film had some nice depth to it, and the "bit that made people faint and vomit" wasn't that bad at all. Highly recommended, and much better than Slumdog Millionaire in my opinion.
8.5/10
The King's Speech was superb! Excellent acting by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush - truly remarkable. Simple story based around history together with excellent direction and believable characters (due to the sublime acting) leads to a truly excellent film.
9/10
Run Fatboy Run was on TV, and as I hadn't watched it, I gave it a shot. As I expected - moderate storyline, some comedy, and some Simon Peggness. Nothing spectacular, nothing I would watch over and over, but a decent enough film.
6/10
City of Men. It was ok, nothing near as amazing as City of God, but still had the same style. It was a lot for boring, bit harder to follow, and just didn't seem to have that glimmering touch. By no means bad, but doesn't live up to the almighty task of matching it's predecessor.
7/10
It's a Kind of Funny Story - it wasn't funny...at all, though it was supposed to be more of a drama...I hope. It was ok - nicely done, a tad dull in points, but a film which had some charm to it. Nothing I would neither recommend nor ask to avoid, just cute.
6.5/10
I watched About Schmidt which was on my list. It was a very good film - Jack Nicholson's performance is amazing - career best in my opinion. The screenplay is excellent, and you really do see his breaking down and tearing through the lonely times of his life. Would highly recommend, though it is a bit of a dark comedy, if comedy can be applied to the film.
8/10
28 Days Later was another film from my list, and I enjoyed it, but didn't feel it lived up to some of the hype surrounding it. Geeky film stuff aside, it was ok - nothing amazing, but certainly not bad - once again I could see the Boyle-esque style to it all, and enjoyed this very muchly.
7/10
E.T: The Extra Terrestrial was, unfortunately, a tad over-rated. I've had people my whole life going "How could you not have seen it?! It's amazing!", and I was left feeling that it was not "amazing", but just good. It was cute, it was a little soppy, and felt the whole "being taken away/experiments" thing kinda wasn't needed and spoilt the warmth from the film, but it was good...not amazing.
7/10
Trainspotting – highly enjoyable, occasionally laugh out loud funny, crude and very well made film which really did jump out at me. Truly great British film which made me very happy when I finally got to watch it
8/10
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest was WOW. Simply wow. Strangely made me feel good for the most part, brilliant acting from all, massively enjoyed. One that I certainly would love to watch over and over.
10/10
Right, I'm bang up to date now I feel better
There has been a somewhat lack-of-Ciall in this thread in the last month, so nice to read people's views on films other than the usual dominance of me and peep
Prepare for a mega-post of most of the films I have watched in my absence, in no order whatsoever:
The Dilemma was ok, but was a bit thin on the ground. The storyline seemed dragged out, and could have easily been a sub-plot within another film, but was for some reason a massive feature film filler. Humour was there, and was smirk humour, and the acting was as you'd expect. It just didn't have much going for it at all, really...
5/10
Little Fockers turned out to be below my already low expectations. Simply awful. You could tell the film was made simply for money-snatching purposes, smirked only once or twice, brought nothing to the series and was a complete waste of an hour and a half. Avoid at all costs.
3/10
Henry's Crime - I wasn't sure about the film before I saw it, and was VERY surprised by it. It was witty, dark humoured, slow, but had an undescribable likeability factor. I dunno why, it just was really enjoyable and entertaining. I simply loved it, even though it wasn't amazing. It can only be explained by watching it yourself. Great film, pleased I watched it.
8/10
The Ward by John Carpenter. It very much had the JC style to it, much similar to his classic films with "jumpy" moments, false suspense etc. None of these mad me jump, but the person I was with was jumping like a mad-man (woman) bless her :') The plot itself was ok, and the ending was very Shutter Island in style, but it wasn't awful by any shot.
6.5/10
Vertigo. Once again, an amazing Hitchcock film which really does leave you breathless, and really isn't as dated at it should. Great twist, quirky ending, and simply a masterclass to watch.
9/10
The Fighter - It was good, granted, but not amazing. Boxing films always tend to get overrated in my opinion, and tend to get lots of awards at the awards ceremonies, and I must say that it was by no means boring at any point. Christian Bale was great as the supporting role, and really does challenge Geoffrey Rush for supporting actor awards. A good watch.
8/10
Black Swan was watched after I was nomming over it for a few months. It was very good - excellent performances, brilliantly shot and just amazing to watch. It really does stand out amongst the crowd and I can see why it's getting all the accolades it so richly deserves. Just pure brilliance (sorry Slayed
)9/10
Biutiful – excellent foreign langauge film. Touching, moving, excellent story and an all round good cinematic experience. Muchly enjoyed.
8/10
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Last year I watched the somewhat loosely related sequel (Get Him to the Greek) and found it to be complete tosh, however, FSM was actually very good. Humour mixed with a basic, but deeply enjoyable storyline, coupled with a (for once) tolerable Russell Brand led to me really enjoying the film.
7.5/10
Love and Other Drugs was quite good. It kind of felt like a soft porn film - LOTS of nudity from Anne Hathaway, and lots of sex scenes. I kind of felt that it could have been better without the humour, not as the humour wasn't funny, but as it was very sensitive film and could have been better shown without silly little gags every now and then. Nonetheless, enjoyable.
7/10
127 Hours - It was very good, had a lot of Boyle-esque camera work and features, was gripping and was very well made. The film had some nice depth to it, and the "bit that made people faint and vomit" wasn't that bad at all. Highly recommended, and much better than Slumdog Millionaire in my opinion.
8.5/10
The King's Speech was superb! Excellent acting by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush - truly remarkable. Simple story based around history together with excellent direction and believable characters (due to the sublime acting) leads to a truly excellent film.
9/10
Run Fatboy Run was on TV, and as I hadn't watched it, I gave it a shot. As I expected - moderate storyline, some comedy, and some Simon Peggness. Nothing spectacular, nothing I would watch over and over, but a decent enough film.
6/10
City of Men. It was ok, nothing near as amazing as City of God, but still had the same style. It was a lot for boring, bit harder to follow, and just didn't seem to have that glimmering touch. By no means bad, but doesn't live up to the almighty task of matching it's predecessor.
7/10
It's a Kind of Funny Story - it wasn't funny...at all, though it was supposed to be more of a drama...I hope. It was ok - nicely done, a tad dull in points, but a film which had some charm to it. Nothing I would neither recommend nor ask to avoid, just cute.
6.5/10
I watched About Schmidt which was on my list. It was a very good film - Jack Nicholson's performance is amazing - career best in my opinion. The screenplay is excellent, and you really do see his breaking down and tearing through the lonely times of his life. Would highly recommend, though it is a bit of a dark comedy, if comedy can be applied to the film.
8/10
28 Days Later was another film from my list, and I enjoyed it, but didn't feel it lived up to some of the hype surrounding it. Geeky film stuff aside, it was ok - nothing amazing, but certainly not bad - once again I could see the Boyle-esque style to it all, and enjoyed this very muchly.
7/10
E.T: The Extra Terrestrial was, unfortunately, a tad over-rated. I've had people my whole life going "How could you not have seen it?! It's amazing!", and I was left feeling that it was not "amazing", but just good. It was cute, it was a little soppy, and felt the whole "being taken away/experiments" thing kinda wasn't needed and spoilt the warmth from the film, but it was good...not amazing.
7/10
Trainspotting – highly enjoyable, occasionally laugh out loud funny, crude and very well made film which really did jump out at me. Truly great British film which made me very happy when I finally got to watch it
8/10
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest was WOW. Simply wow. Strangely made me feel good for the most part, brilliant acting from all, massively enjoyed. One that I certainly would love to watch over and over.
10/10
Right, I'm bang up to date now
I feel better
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
I saw The Fighter almost 2 weeks ago now I hope you'll enjoy it!
Did you get a chance to see Henry's Law by any chance, John? I don't know anybody else who did, so I'm looking for somebody to talk to about it just to get a second opinion on it
I hope you'll enjoy it!Did you get a chance to see Henry's Law by any chance, John? I don't know anybody else who did, so I'm looking for somebody to talk to about it just to get a second opinion on it
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
^ Dayuum. If you do manage to catch it when it comes out on home release, drop me a line with your thoughts!