Film and TV recomendations

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2021 8:43:18 GMT mikey said:

Oct 10, 2021 8:11:34 GMT calndel said:

Cracking film, hopefully it will be released.

Green knight, was okay, very stylish, borrowed from many great directors and films. Made for streaming.

No time to die, well made Bond film, sprinkles of in jokes and not too action heavy.

Agree with the Green Knight, ok but not as outstanding as the hype made out.  

not fussed on seeing James, did get fed up with all the product placements in earlier films I can easily give it a miss.  Do hope it continues to draw big crowds as the independent cinemas are desperate to see viewers returning and this is the film they are relying on.  There are lots of films coming out which I am looking forward to seeing on the big screen, including the latest Marvel offerings, west side story, the last duel, dune, death on the Nile and, most exciting of all (and for me a bigger cinema event than Bond) WesAnderson’s new film ‘the french despatch’.

getting back to pre Covid normality, just how did we manage to fit all this in with our lives?

Most of it will still be blighted by unrealistic characters to suit the modern agenda.

[mikey]

Have forgotten this thread for a while, good to be reminded of its existence.

If you hav3 not already seen it, I strongly recommend’the banshees of inishirin’. Just a fabulous film, from laugh out loud to absolute tragedy. All well filmed and finely acted. Go see it if you get the chance

[mikey]

Cannot believe I was the last to post on this topic, let alone that it was 14 months ago.
Went to see Poor Things last night. Amazing film totally different to what you would normally be expecting. Made by Yorgos Lanthimos it is more similar to Dogtooth and The Lobster than The Favourite. (Who recommended The Lobster?). From the novel by Alasdair Gray, originally set in Glasgow. Not heard of him before, wonder if Cal or Del are aware of his work and have any recommendations.

Something different, well worth watching although sometimes gory and often explicit, apply caution over who you go to see it with.

There was also a preview of the upcoming Wicked Little Letters, just seems to be a torrent of bad language set in 1920’s England based on a real life scandal. It looks immensely funny.

[mikey]

Now the worst (hopefully) of Covid is behind us and the big studios are realising that Superheroes are not the only films worth making, 2024 is becoming a good year for cinema going. At least. I have been 4 times this week and there are more good films coming soon.

Last Sunday saw The Zone of Interest: good film and recommended watching, not enjoyable given the subject and knowing what was going on just the other side of the wall! *
Wednesday, not a new film but still worth going to see a special screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Even though seen it loads of times before (since going with family to see it in Newport in the 70’s) and got it on DVD well worth seeing again with a studio audience. Nice to see youngsters enjoying and laughing out loud throughout, proving how timeless the humour is.
Thursday, national theatre screening of Vanya, Andrew Scott’s one man show adaptation of Uncle Vanya. A show that should not work but with Andrew Scott it comes alive and was thoroughly absorbing throughout.
Friday was Wicked Little Letters, good British made film and good British humour based on true events. Enjoyable throughout, very sweary throughout but certainly not gratuitous as all said in context. Not one that I would watch again but very enjoyable to watch in the cinema.

All this and more to come, including next instalment of the epic Dune, a new Paddington and of course, Despicable Me.

*Auschwitz is a massive site which began at former Polish Barracks and where housing for SS and their families were close by. Further away is the industrial complex where prisoners were used as slave labour and then the rail terminus, huts and site of gas chambers that we are familiar with. So, Rudolf Hoss and his family were some distance from the worst horror where hundreds of thousands were murdered. However, the more modest prototype (death in thousands) with the ovens still remaining was constructed just the other side of the wall from the home where Hoss, his wife and children, lived. When I visited Auschwitz, I stood in front of that site of industrialised killing and could look over and see the house, no different from any other build in the suburbs, where they enjoyed their own family live. The question I wanted answered but will never be understood, was ‘how could this be?’ the Zone of Interest attempts to show Hoss and his family living their lives secluded (but not fully shielded) from his brutal death camps but still unable to answer that terrible question how.

[olirow]

I saw Poor Things too, not quite so convinced that it is breaking new ground as many, but it was interesting and well done. Not seen the Lobster before, will make a note to see it. At home, I am still using MUBI to watch films, have seen Please Baby Please and Actual People in the last few days. Enjoyed them both, PBP is kitschy gay and quite thought provoking. Actual People has a fantastic scene which brings the preceding action in to focus, I like it when a film ends up making sense like that.

[calndel]

Del's top tips from the Glasgow Film Festival

1. The Home Game, a fantastic documentary about an small Icelandic fishing village attempts to play a home game on a football pitch they carved into a lava field. It won the audience award record hit score from votes cast.

2. The G, a tense thriller about a gran you'd love to have but won't want to mess with.

3. Restore point, a Czechia Si-Fi tale about digital Frankenstein technology

[calndel]

Del went to see Civil War a few weeks ago, he thought it was okay but felt confused and let down by the ending.

Del had to google a synopsis of the film before he realised he was right to be confused as the film maker wanted to leave some plot line blurry to represent the fog of war and to show battles for the press's point of view.

Del also saw Kong & Godzilla, don't.

[beef]

May 9, 2024 7:36:23 GMT calndel said:

Del went to see Civil War a few weeks ago, he thought it was okay but felt confused and let down by the ending.

Del had to google a synopsis of the film before he realised he was right to be confused as the film maker wanted to leave some plot line blurry to represent the fog of war and to show battles for the press's point of view.

Del also saw Kong & Godzilla, don't.

...like when the Cohen brothers claimed at the start of Fargo (the 1996 film) that it was based on a true story... I hate it when film directors think they're smarter than the audience.