Rate the last movie you've seen

[shootemindehead]

Re: Dunkirk, there were some French colonial troops on the beaches during the week. But, they were an extremely slim minority. I think the film shows a couple as well.

[EvilNed]

I thought that new film Overlord was kinda provoking. The protagonist is a black person. The film tries to include and represent, but what it does instead is portray a tolerant 1940's - a time when US soldiers had to be shown PSA's like this (skip 25 minutes in): It's just rewriting history in a more positive light. Erasing past mistakes.

[MinionZombie]

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark - I'd not seen this one before, but Arrow Video recently put out a new Blu-Ray, so I gave it a spin. It's good, campy fun and while some of the gags fall a bit flat other gags still soar 30 years later. The setup of Elvira blowing the lid of a small, ultra-conservative town (led by a bunch of buttoned-down busy bodies like Chastity Pariah) works really well and overall it's damn good fun. The Blu-Ray has two hours of making of content, so I'm looking forward to that. Two Doors Down - not a movie, aye, but the fourth series recently got going and I just got caught up on the episodes I had missed. It's a Scottish sitcom about a bunch of middle aged suburbanites. It's a low-key set-up, but the character-based humour is pin sharp hilarious (e.g. characters like Kathy, the booze-addled toddler-in-a-woman's-body; or Christine, the foul-mouthed tight-arsed leech next door who always manages to inveigle her way into any social situation she's not been invited to). There's an added layer of fun for me, too, as it takes me back to my Scottish roots what with the dialogue and all. ... I thought that new film Overlord was kinda provoking. The protagonist is a black person. The film tries to include and represent, but what it does instead is portray a tolerant 1940's - a time when US soldiers had to be shown PSA's like this (skip 25 minutes in): It's just rewriting history in a more positive light. Erasing past mistakes. I've not seen Overlord yet, but I've heard good things. Naturally I'll have to watch it for myself, but yeah, when if you're seeing a past that's more tolerant (in a wider, more general context) than it actually was then that's just a lie. This reminds me of a couple of recent war videogames - Battlefield 1 features a story involving black soldiers on the battlefield as they had their own segregated regiments IIRC, and Call of Duty: WWII features a supporting character who is black (IIRC their specialty is in demolition or something like that), anyway, there's a point where one of your squad is openly racist to them (no n-words or anything). They also have a female character in one point of the game, but it makes sense as she's a member of the French Resistance who is tasked with infiltrating a Nazi HQ alongside her superior. Similarly, one of the major characters is Jewish and there's various swipes and in-jokes cracked amidst the group - but you also see the horrors of Anti-Semitism in that game in an unflinching way. Meanwhile, something like Mad Men feels quite truthful to the time - distanced fathers, rampant chauvinism and sexism, dreadful work practices, gay men trapped in the closet, desperate housewives etc etc etc. It doesn't really hide the vibe of the 1960s in what was then cosmipolitan for the time, but it was able to tell these various stories in a way that felt true (or true enough) to the time period in which it was set and never really forced, so Mad Men handled it pretty well I think.

[blind2d]

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark - I'd not seen this one before, but Arrow Video recently put out a new Blu-Ray, so I gave it a spin. It's good, campy fun and while some of the gags fall a bit flat other gags still soar 30 years later. The setup of Elvira blowing the lid of a small, ultra-conservative town (led by a bunch of buttoned-down busy bodies like Chastity Pariah) works really well and overall it's damn good fun. The Blu-Ray has two hours of making of content, so I'm looking forward to that. Two Doors Down - not a movie, aye, but the fourth series recently got going and I just got caught up on the episodes I had missed. It's a Scottish sitcom about a bunch of middle aged suburbanites. It's a low-key set-up, but the character-based humour is pin sharp hilarious (e.g. characters like Kathy, the booze-addled toddler-in-a-woman's-body; or Christine, the foul-mouthed tight-arsed leech next door who always manages to inveigle her way into any social situation she's not been invited to). There's an added layer of fun for me, too, as it takes me back to my Scottish roots what with the dialogue and all. ... I've not seen Overlord yet, but I've heard good things. Naturally I'll have to watch it for myself, but yeah, when if you're seeing a past that's more tolerant (in a wider, more general context) than it actually was then that's just a lie. This reminds me of a couple of recent war videogames - Battlefield 1 features a story involving black soldiers on the battlefield as they had their own segregated regiments IIRC, and Call of Duty: WWII features a supporting character who is black (IIRC their specialty is in demolition or something like that), anyway, there's a point where one of your squad is openly racist to them (no n-words or anything). They also have a female character in one point of the game, but it makes sense as she's a member of the French Resistance who is tasked with infiltrating a Nazi HQ alongside her superior. Similarly, one of the major characters is Jewish and there's various swipes and in-jokes cracked amidst the group - but you also see the horrors of Anti-Semitism in that game in an unflinching way. Meanwhile, something like Mad Men feels quite truthful to the time - distanced fathers, rampant chauvinism and sexism, dreadful work practices, gay men trapped in the closet, desperate housewives etc etc etc. It doesn't really hide the vibe of the 1960s in what was then cosmipolitan for the time, but it was able to tell these various stories in a way that felt true (or true enough) to the time period in which it was set and never really forced, so Mad Men handled it pretty well I think. Oh yeah, I remember seeing that Elvira movie a couple years back! It was fun, for sure. Campy as all get out, of course. As for the rest, yes, when people try too hard to be inclusive and such, can be weird. Feels fake, you know? And buzzfeed has been shit for years, so I don't take anyone seriously who still fucks with that. Unless they're like 14 and don't know any better or something. But yeah, the James Gunn thing still irks me. At least we can all agree Trump is a dangerous fascist and the whole system of the US federal government needs to change if any improvement is to be made on the large scale. Also I don't think rewriting history is a good thing, really... Even to put a positive spin on things (maybe especially).

[JDP]

Holy shit, it's THE PENGUIN!!!! WAH WAH WAH WAAAAAAH!

[bassman]

Trailer Park Boys - Seasons 1-12 and various specials/movies Like most, I’ve known of TPB for years and seen many clips and specials here and there, but a little while back I decided to start from the beginning to get the full experience. Some of the most enjoyable comedy I’ve seen in decades. For those that may have been living under a rock, the show is set in Sunnyvale Trailer Park, Nova Scotia, and centers on thee unemployed friends that continually get into hijinks against the park “security”, Mr Lahey, which is performed beautifully by the late Jeff Dunsworth. An amazing performance(some of his drunken acting is the best I’ve seen) and TPB hasn’t been the same since his death. You may inadvertently begin to have more “colorful” language in your daily life after viewing, but the laughs come so often and strong that it’s all must-watch comedy, IMO. 10/10 Beautiful Boy Steve Carrell plays a father dealing with his son’s substance addictions. That’s pretty much the whole premise. Obviously this one is aiming for the heart, and it definitely hits the target. It’s probably even more impactful if the viewer has dealt with addiction in their lives whether it be themselves, family, or friends. 7/10 Bird Box Like any film, you could find several things that could be improved, but overall I was most impressed with the apocalyptic feel of it all. As the world falls apart, it almost feels like something from our beloved “of the Dead” series. You often hear it compared to A Quiet Place because of the similar plots involving the senses, and while I’d say Krasinki’s effort is the better movie as a whole, Bird Box did a much better job of placing me at the end of the world. It felt more “real” somehow. 7/10 Mid-90’s Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, a coming of age story set around the skateboarding scene. Having grown up during this time, there were lots of little things I could relate to, but the movie itself didn’t really seem to go anywhere. It’s more like a montage of things that happened in Hill’s life, if I had to guess, and the structure feels strange. 6/10

[MinionZombie]

Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence as a former ballerina in Russia who ends up working for the state as a 'Red Sparrow', a secret agent famed for their skills at seduction. It feels kind of odd in that it has a bit of an 80s vibe to it (Cold War paranoia, the dead hand of the State puppetteering its helpless citizens etc) but it's set in the present day. There's lots of 'who are they really working for?' stuff going on in this movie, so at times it's a bit convoluted and hard to follow, while at other times it works quite well. The easily offended need not apply, but even with some of the flash-in-the-pan controversy that surrounded the movie when it first came out (which was all immediately forgotten about as soon as some other vague movie 'controversy' came along for a few minutes), there's the surface layer (where the perpetually offended set up shop and frothed for a bit) and then there's the obvious second layer where Dominika is blatantly the one who is really controlling the moment. Her character is pretty decent in that while she has clear capabilities - especially being raised in the harsh world of 'the state' and its layers of vicious bureaucracy - she doesn't just get what she wants easily or without trial and tribulation, or breaking a few eggs along the way, so Dominkia/Katerina does feel fairly complex. It's pretty violent at times, although a hardened genre fans will likely sail through it. All-in-all it's pretty decent, but there's just something about it which doesn't quite click ... but it's very hard to put a finger on why ... so it's kind of a 6.5/10 sorta flick.

[blind2d]

Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence as a former ballerina in Russia who ends up working for the state as a 'Red Sparrow', a secret agent famed for their skills at seduction. It feels kind of odd in that it has a bit of an 80s vibe to it (Cold War paranoia, the dead hand of the State puppetteering its helpless citizens etc) but it's set in the present day. There's lots of 'who are they really working for?' stuff going on in this movie, so at times it's a bit convoluted and hard to follow, while at other times it works quite well. The easily offended need not apply, but even with some of the flash-in-the-pan controversy that surrounded the movie when it first came out (which was all immediately forgotten about as soon as some other vague movie 'controversy' came along for a few minutes), there's the surface layer (where the perpetually offended set up shop and frothed for a bit) and then there's the obvious second layer where Dominika is blatantly the one who is really controlling the moment. Her character is pretty decent in that while she has clear capabilities - especially being raised in the harsh world of 'the state' and its layers of vicious bureaucracy - she doesn't just get what she wants easily or without trial and tribulation, or breaking a few eggs along the way, so Dominkia/Katerina does feel fairly complex. It's pretty violent at times, although a hardened genre fans will likely sail through it. All-in-all it's pretty decent, but there's just something about it which doesn't quite click ... but it's very hard to put a finger on why ... so it's kind of a 6.5/10 sorta flick. Controversy? "Easily offended"? Oh please do elaborate, as I've heard nothing about this film whatsoever. Seems silly though to paint modern day Russia as it was in the 80's, if indeed that's what they've done here. Was the film written by baby boomers or something? Ooh, and the big question, was it better than the remake of Red Dawn?

[MinionZombie]

Controversy? "Easily offended"? Oh please do elaborate, as I've heard nothing about this film whatsoever. Seems silly though to paint modern day Russia as it was in the 80's, if indeed that's what they've done here. Was the film written by baby boomers or something? Ooh, and the big question, was it better than the remake of Red Dawn? Reviewers who slagged off the film moaned about the sex and nudity in the film, even going so far as to deride (in their estimation at least) it as "sexploitation". It's a bit daft considering that their training involves dehumanising them, stripping them of all normal human morals and inhibitions - so that literally having to strip when instructed, or perform any kind of act with any kind of person, becomes devoid of emotion and is rendered purely mechanical as a means to an end to benefit the state. You can't really get that point across without actually showing it. It is fair to say that the movie lacks in terms of 'espionage training', but at 130 minutes it's already a bit long and there isn't really the space to fit it all in. Then again, it's not as if the Red Sparrows are the only spies/agents the state has to use, so it's not as if some high-up called Vlad or whatever is gonna ring up with a Bond-level mission and say "gimme a Red Sparrow", nah, Vlad would head off to KGB types for that kind of thing. Anyway, there were further controversies surrounding the movie - one particularly moronic one involved a photograph with Lawrence in a fancy dress with her male co-stars who all had winter coats on. Now, J.Law being J.Law, she's known to speak her mind and act according to her own decisions (quite right), and it was a promo pic with a fancy dress by a designer. If you choose to wear the dress and show it off for the designer, you're not going to hide it beneath a coat. Anyway, as per the usual bullshit on Twitter and blah-blah-blah, there was a storm in a very worn-out tea cup about it - and then J.Law chimed in and said "get a grip". There was also some reviewers whining about non-Russians being in the movie playing Russians with 'dodgy Russian accents' (IIRC J.Law herself spent a lot of time with a vocal coach learning how to speak with a Russian accent). The whingers seem to forget about it being an American-made movie, and there's not exactly a shedload of bankable Russian stars hanging around, and seemingly none that had any interest/involvement in the film project itself. All rather tiresome bollocks, really, from idiots looking to generate clickbait - the most cynical and context-free creations of the 21st Century. The source novel was written in 2013 (and has had two sequels). Obviously there's still espionage going on and all sorts of curious things, particularly with Russia it seems (e.g. all this Trump stuff, and then of course the whole Novichok incident here in the UK), so the film's idea of Russia gearing up for a 'new cold war' as America fights with itself feels kind of relevant. I suppose the jarring element was how 'pre-1989' a lot of the settings looked and felt, as if 30 years of Perestroika hadn't afforded anyone double glazing or better interior decorators. It was filmed in Hungary and some of the locations looked about the same as similar locations for Ruggero Deodato's "The Washing Machine" (which was also filmed in Hungary IIRC, just a couple of years after the Iron Curtain came down). Red Dawn ... blimey, I'd forgotten I'd even seen that. Red Sparrow craps all over the Red Dawn remake.

[Moon Knight]

Deep Red/Profondo rosso 1975 It’s 70’s Argento. Brilliant cinematography, beautiful use of color, imaginative, cheesy dubbed dialogue, realistic violence, and Goblin. One of his top movies from that era. 4/5 stars.

[MinionZombie]

Pacific Rim: Uprising - 5/10 When I first heard there was a sequel coming I was stoked. Then I heard GDT wasn't at the helm. Then I saw the trailer. Then I saw the movie. It's all a bit messy with too many side characters whose names you don't know who add very little beyond the necessity of having enough pilots for all the Jaegers. I liked the idea of Stacker's son not living up to his father's name and living in a post-war world, but his characterisation is a little bit all over the place and feels a bit 'reluctant guy with promise becomes the hero required' generic. There's a tween girl who is quite annoying at the beginning and even comes across as a bit of an irritating arse who thinks they're brilliant at everything (and is even a bit of a 'Mary Sue' in the first act). She has a few good moments in the movie, but she's so often just annoying rather than someone we can really sympathise with. Also, killing off a main character from the previous movie early on feels like a slap in the face and a conctractual obligation for the actor. You don't feel any connection between John Boyega's character and Scott Eastwood's character, even though they have history, and it's even worse for supporting characters. Remember the emotional punch in the original movie when one of the father/son Jaeger pilot team died, even though they were 'just' supporting characters? Yep, pretty much sod all of that gravitas here. The main issue is the plot and a lack of any Kaiju until the final act. I know why that is, but it still feels a bit weird ... and then the biggest bug bear is the total lack of weight in the world of PR:U. In the previous movie you saw and felt the weight of these big ass mechs fighting big ass monsters and tearing down cities ... in this one it feels like a human swatting through cardboard. The physics of what is going on are just sloppy. There's no real sense of inertia, and the whole problem is most obvious in a scene where a mech gets swung through a succession of skyscrapers as if neither the mech nor the buildings really weighed anything. It lacks the emotional punch of the original movie, the deep world building, and GDT's incredible sense of design. It's just okay, but considering how damn good the original was, 'just okay' simply ain't good enough. Deep Red/Profondo rosso 1975 It’s 70’s Argento. Brilliant cinematography, beautiful use of color, imaginative, cheesy dubbed dialogue, realistic violence, and Goblin. One of his top movies from that era. 4/5 stars. Which version did you see? Theatrical or Director's Cut? The latter is about 127 minutes long, IIRC.

[Neil]

Holy shit, it's THE PENGUIN!!!! WAH WAH WAH WAAAAAAH! Thanks! Couldn't place him!

[shootemindehead]

This reminds me of a couple of recent war videogames - Battlefield 1 features a story involving black soldiers on the battlefield as they had their own segregated regiments IIRC, and Call of Duty: WWII features a supporting character who is black (IIRC their specialty is in demolition or something like that), anyway, there's a point where one of your squad is openly racist to them (no n-words or anything). They also have a female character in one point of the game, but it makes sense as she's a member of the French Resistance who is tasked with infiltrating a Nazi HQ alongside her superior. Similarly, one of the major characters is Jewish and there's various swipes and in-jokes cracked amidst the group - but you also see the horrors of Anti-Semitism in that game in an unflinching way. I know it's all just dumb "second level" media, like computer games, horror movies and whatnot, but I really hate this kind of crap. This type of Allied whitewashing really gets my goat. The U.S. Army in WWII was completely segregated along racial lines. In fact, for the vast majority of the conflict black men weren't allowed to fight in frontline units and they were only used in a support capacity and in menial duties. The only operational black division was the 92nd, which saw some combat in Italy. The only U.S.A.A.F. unit was the 332nd. America was virulently racist at the time and would continue to be so, in general, until well into the civil rights era. It's arguable that the country continues to be to this day, in certain quarters. America has always been obsessed with race because of its past. And don't even get me started on likes of Britain and France. While these countries made use of non-white folk in their armies, absolutely none of them were even remotely "tolerant" in a racial manner. As regards to women, all of the major combatants used females to some degree. But, only the Russians had women in regular frontline combat units. So, while the female "member of the French Resistance" is OK on the surface, she also a amputee, which is flat out ridiculous, even for a computer game. It's historical whitewashing of the most egregious kind in my opinion, even if you can just say "well, it's only a movie", or "it's just a video game". Look at this picture. It represents nothing from WWII. We have a milenial neckbeard, a female amputee, and a black guy and they're all wearing Celtic woad into the bargain. The only thing remotely coming close to anything in the second world war in that shot is the para on the left. My inner historical nerd is screaming WTF.

[MinionZombie]

So, while the female "member of the French Resistance" is OK on the surface, she also a amputee, which is flat out ridiculous, even for a computer game. It's historical whitewashing of the most egregious kind in my opinion, even if you can just say "well, it's only a movie", or "it's just a video game". Look at this picture. It represents nothing from WWII. We have a milenial neckbeard, a female amputee, and a black guy and they're all wearing Celtic woad into the bargain. The only thing remotely coming close to anything in the second world war in that shot is the para on the left. My inner historical nerd is screaming WTF. The female Resistance member I was referencing was from COD: WWII, who's just normal folk ... not to be confused with that bizarre Battlefield V nonsense where it's more like a comic book with 2018 representation crammed into a 1940s world for curious results. Stranger still, considering how Battlefield 1 was all about showing the horrors of war as much as possible, although they did have quite a lot of automatic weapons in that game ... but then there's certain concessions to be made in order to balance fun gameplay with realism. Looks like they ditched realism completely for Battlefield V. But I know what you mean, just because it's a videogame or a genre movie, it doesn't mean there isn't a responsibility to get basic historical facts correct as well as to present the socio-political climate of the time accurately.

[shootemindehead]

The female Resistance member I was referencing was from COD: WWII, who's just normal folk ... not to be confused with that bizarre Battlefield V nonsense where it's more like a comic book with 2018 representation crammed into a 1940s world for curious results. Stranger still, considering how Battlefield 1 was all about showing the horrors of war as much as possible, although they did have quite a lot of automatic weapons in that game ... but then there's certain concessions to be made in order to balance fun gameplay with realism. Looks like they ditched realism completely for Battlefield V. But I know what you mean, just because it's a videogame or a genre movie, it doesn't mean there isn't a responsibility to get basic historical facts correct as well as to present the socio-political climate of the time accurately. Ah right. Sorry, I can't even remember any COD games. I only play those things briefly and then they're gone. I thought you were on about the new one, which while it's "just" a game, looks absolutely ridiculous. But, I've yet to play any WWII game was accurate to a degree that I would consider good, if I'm honest. But, there are limits. IL2, Aces of the Deep and Silent Hunter III/IV probably came as close in game form as I've seen. In any case, I'm the worst possible person to play these things or watch WWII movies. I've spent far too long studying the real thing. It's funny though. I can laugh at 'Wolfenstein', but get irritated by 'Battlefield V'. A bit odd when I think about it.