Rate the last movie you've seen

[bassman]

I was a bit let down by the Steve Martin and Martin Short special. It wasn’t bad, I guess I just expected a bit more from those two? Expectations may have hurt me on that one... I’m only halfway through the season, but I’m currently enjoying The Umbrella Academy. I’m not familiar with the Dark Horse comic, but the show is a good sort of dissection of the superhero or mutant genre. Really funny, to boot. Netflix seems to be killing it lately with their original programming, which will ultimately be their bread and butter now that the streaming war is becoming so cut-throat.

[MinionZombie]

Patriots Day Peter Berg continues his string of 'action dramas based on true events, starring Mark Wahlberg' (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon), and again it's a good flick. The movie is inherently tense as you know what's coming, and being only familiar with the story on the surface (especially after the years that have passed with plenty of other dreadful news on the telly to cram into one's brain), it further made for tense viewing. The film does an excellent job of taking the time to make the characters human and relatable - but also in a very efficient manner so you're not waiting for things to move on. There's a great cast, although not everyone gets a role to allow their talents to shine, but such is the nature of the story being told. It's also good that at the end of the movie they take the time to show some of the real-life people (who we've seen portrayed on-screen) and we get to hear them speak a few years on from the incident. The movie also combines real footage from the day itself and the aftermath, or recreates footage when the actors are on-screen (e.g. CCTV footage). This lends the film a strange, yet quite effective sense of reality and sweaty immediacy. It's certainly the kind of movie you've gotta be in the mood for, but it's quite well done. I was a bit let down by the Steve Martin and Martin Short special. It wasn’t bad, I guess I just expected a bit more from those two? Expectations may have hurt me on that one... Netflix seems to be killing it lately with their original programming, which will ultimately be their bread and butter now that the streaming war is becoming so cut-throat. 1) Yeah. I did enjoy it, but at the same time it was a bit bumpy or didn't quite hit with me, not that I'm a huge fan of theirs, but I do enjoy their work. Sometimes the show kinda grinds to a halt, but other times it's really entertaining and their on-stage abilities combined with their chemistry shine through. I think an element of it is that the show definitely feels more 'of their generation', if that makes sense? It's not a bad thing, it's just a different thing in this day and age. 2) Ugh, the ruddy streaming war - as if folks have enough money to pay for all these damn services. The market is going to be even more fractured and ultimately the consumers are going to be either hopping around here and there for periods of time, or they'll just say "nah" and do without. I wonder if there'll be an up tick in physical media sales - e.g. if someone wants to see a movie owned by the goliath that is Disney and it's myrid subsidiaries, but they don't have the Disney streaming service, might they just buy the DVD or Blu-Ray? Another good thing about physical media - when you buy it, you bloody well own it. Not like, for example, iTunes users buying digital copies and then the rights lapse and suddenly that digital file they 'owned' vanishes into the ether. Things jumping from one media platform to the next takes the piss, but I understand why it happens - but I did notice that Netflix don't tell you that something is leaving the platform, it just vanishes. I had "La La Land" on the watch list and it just disappeared ... about a week before it aired on BBC2, so I recorded it on the DVR and will get around to it as-and-when.

[bassman]

It varies depending on the platform and it may be different between the UK and US, but Netflix does let you know if something is leaving. The problem is, it only shows on the the title’s page where you have “play”, “episodes and more” and all that, so it’s not visible on the title’s thumbnail image, which is what you generally see while browsing. They need to work on that, but I’ve noticed it will say “leaving on March 1st” or whatever date on the title’s page for about a month or two before said date. They need to do like Hulu and have a “leaving soon” subsection that takes anything in your favorites and also adds it to this section if it’s in danger of leaving the service. Like you, I love collecting physical media, but in the case of Netflix, they’re going to have an edge because they’re focusing more on original programming whereas some other streaming services just lease out titles. As you say, with so many new streaming platforms on the way, these titles are going to get more and more scarce as these companies retain the programming that belongs to them. I’m no expert, but from everything I’ve seen, it will likely all ultimately lead to some kind of service where you can pick and choose certain services for a flat monthly rate. Much like TV cable/satellite service, which is ironic considering these streaming services have thrived off of everyone “cutting the cord” from cable.

[MinionZombie]

It varies depending on the platform and it may be different between the UK and US, but Netflix does let you know if something is leaving. The problem is, it only shows on the the title’s page where you have “play”, “episodes and more” and all that, so it’s not visible on the title’s thumbnail image, which is what you generally see while browsing. They need to work on that, but I’ve noticed it will say “leaving on March 1st” or whatever date on the title’s page for about a month or two before said date. They need to do like Hulu and have a “leaving soon” subsection that takes anything in your favorites and also adds it to this section if it’s in danger of leaving the service. Like you, I love collecting physical media, but in the case of Netflix, they’re going to have an edge because they’re focusing more on original programming whereas some other streaming services just lease out titles. As you say, with so many new streaming platforms on the way, these titles are going to get more and more scarce as these companies retain the programming that belongs to them. I’m no expert, but from everything I’ve seen, it will likely all ultimately lead to some kind of service where you can pick and choose certain services for a flat monthly rate. Much like TV cable/satellite service, which is ironic considering these streaming services have thrived off of everyone “cutting the cord” from cable. 1) Ah, so they basically put it in a place where you're hardly likely to see it! Daft! You do wonder who thinks things like that are a good idea - they need to hire me as an "ordinary user" to work these services and call out the bullshit or stupid crap that doesn't work right, or is generally clunky in terms of user interface etc. 2) Yeah, Netflix has a very strong suit in its original shows and movies, plus the things it buys distribution rights to as if it was any other major studio competing in the 'indie film' market (e.g. that Ted Bundy movie starring Zac Efron was snapped up by Netflix). They can also work in conjunction with some major filmmakers (Martin Scorcese!) on new projects. 3) Interestingly, Sky have moved to this 'monthly contract' idea whereby you can cancel a portion of your package - or add a new portion to your package - on a monthly basis to remain as competitive as possible. There's so much choice out there they found that yearly contracts were simply not attractive, but if you can dip in and out for however long you want? That's more attractive to a consumer. Still a ruddy faff, mind you! Speaking of Sky - that's how I'm accessing Netflix: through Sky. So it got added to the package and now I'm on the Netflix train, choo-choo!

[bassman]

After the recent news on Last Blood and having a weekend stuck in the house, I decided to start a marathon of Stallone’s First Blood/Rambo films... First Blood Not much new can be said, really. A classic film from top to bottom. It’s always been my favorite of the series, as well as the only “realistic” entry, and I doubt that will be changing anytime soon. Here, John Rambo is a real person that can you can relate to. The final scene is an emotional, crying breakdown, for Pete’s sake. They tried applying some similar scenes in the sequels, to less satisfying results, but if you tried to take this particular scene and plop it into one of those superhero sequels, it just couldn’t work anymore. To me, this is the only GREAT entry of the series thus far. Rambo: First Blood Part II I’d be curious to know exactly which parts of this script are James Cameron’s. Some of the Stallone-written scenes are quite obvious, though(speech at the end, political message on Russia, etc). It’s strange that Cameron wrote this at the same time as Aliens. But that being said, this one isn’t quite as OTT as I’d remembered. Perhaps I was sort of mixing it with Part III when looking back. It’s not as “realistic” as the first film, but it also isn’t a deal breaker. In fact, viewed back-to-back, the first half of this sequel fits in quite nicely with the original. It’s not until the final act that it ventures into superhero territory. On a more superficial note, the actress that plays the female sidekick is stunningly gorgeous! I mean...to the point that it was distracting everytime she was on screen! For those that prefer the male sex, you get Stallone seemingly at the beginning of his juicin’ days where his body got insanely ripped. Going to move on to 3 and 4 tomorrow. Definitely not overly excited about revisiting 3, but hopefully it can surprise me a little bit?

[EvilNed]

The Big Gundown Sergio Sollima directed spaghetti western, featuring Tomas Milian as the mexican stereotype on the run. Chased by Lee Van Cleef to one of the best Morricone scores ever delivered. Night of the Demon 50's, black and white british horror film. This one really holds up and is a great mystery piece in an occult setting. Black Sunday In the mood for more black and white horror, I unwrapped this early Bava film which I have to say delivers quite an atmospheric vampire tale. Worth a watch! Trauma Dario Argento lategame giallo. I believe it's one of few films he directed in the US and to be honest it's quite uninteresting. Crappy score. What was he thinking... Ironmaster Umberto Lenzi directed this stone age tale of the discovery of iron. Not for a single second am I fooled that these are actually not just bodybuilders in ugly wigs - and to be honest that's probably a good thing because the film is so campy it's quite fun. Fyre Fraud Another documentary on the Fyre festival. The other is better, but they're different and both are good. The Long hair of Death Black and white italian gothic horror. These are perfect for a sunday at home. Operation Finale An interesting thriller about the capture of Adolf Eichmann, by Mossad agents in Argentina. The girl who knew too much Black and white giallo. In fact, the first ever giallo. I've seen it before but this time I watched it in italian and the presentation are quite different. For instance in the italian film there is a narrator and many references to drugs which are excised in the american version (I can't remember how much sense the american film does with this omission since the paranoia brought about by the drugs is a key part in the plot) Agent 077 - From the Orient with Fury My first ever Eurospy! For those not in the know; Eurospy were a cycle of italian spy thrillers, in the vein of James Bond films, produced during the 60's. Quite entertaining and I hope to see more of them. Exotic locations, silly props and lots of cardgames and karate chops. Primal Fear I'd never seen this 90's thriller before! Thank Netflix. Good movie with Richard Gere and the first ever film role of Edward Norton. Laura Linney supports. Citizen X Another 90's thriller. Donald Sutherland and some other bloke tries to catch Jeffrey DeMunn - playing the infamous Andrei Chikatillo - in a thriller/drama set in 1980's rural soviet union. Absolute Power Clint Eastwood helmed thriller from the 90's. ALSO featuring Laura Linney. And Ed Harris, Gene Hackman and a host of other recognizeable faces. Den blomstertid nu kommer Swedish action film with absolute amazing action sequences and absolute dogshit drama. Mannaja - A man called Blade Sergio Martino's late entry (1977, I believe) into the spaghetti western genre. Maurizio Merli plays the typical loner spaghetti western anti-hero - who early on chops off a mans hand in a rather gory sequence. Other than that pretty unremarkeable - there are both better Martino films and better spaghetti westerns. Waterworld The Ulysses cut, which adds on 40 minutes. This film really holds up! It's a great film with amazing action sequences. I'm an apologist, I can't find much wrong with this - except for maybe the dated CGI. Solstorm Swedish crime thriller. Boring. Watched it with a friend over the phone. We both start Netflix, pick a film and then just have it on in the background. Maelstrom - The making of Waterworld Feature length documentary on the making of Waterworld, produced for the recently released Arrow Video release. Really interesting anecdotes but mostly talking heads. Still, worth a watch. Lasse-Maja det första mysteriet LasseMaja is a fairly big swedish franchise of childrens books. They sell 500k copies each year in Sweden, and more abroad. I'm working on what will be the 5th film (I think) adaption of the books and watched this last one for research purposes. I'm not the intended audience, so I can't really speak for it's quality. K9 Jim Belushi partners up with a german shepherd in one of two buddycop movies featuring dogs released in 1989. Again, watched it over the phone. Incredibly cliché - which is just what I wanted. Blood and Black Lace Beautiful film that can't be compared to many others. A work of art. Anyone into horror should seek this one out, because it's so incredibly amazing and unique. La Dolce Vita I hadn't seen this before! Marcello Mastroianni plays a journalist without purpose over the course of 7 nights in Rome. Just like his life, the film has little narrative and purpose and instead focuses on the acts of decadence that he and the rich people of Rome get up to during nightly hours. In the end it's quite a sad film, but very good of course. Is it for everyone? Probably not, it is after all a 3 hours long black and white italian film with very little plot... Night of the Living Dead (and again with commentary) Classic. The Criterion blu looks amazing. But it also highlights so many errors in the making of this. Dead people blink (In close ups!), framing is off, the editing is crap, the direction is rather poor and sometimes you can clearly see sunlight when it's supposed to be night - etc, etc... All in all I enjoyed it much more with the commentary track on. Listening to Romero, Russo, Hardman and Eastman was a joy. Dogman Recent italian film I caught in the cinema. Brutal and engaging. But I also felt at a loss as to whom I should sympathize with because the main character was quite a coward.

[Neil]

Waterworld The Ulysses cut, which adds on 40 minutes. This film really holds up! It's a great film with amazing action sequences. I'm an apologist, I can't find much wrong with this - except for maybe the dated CGI. What what WHAT? There's a 40min longer version? and it works well? Wow!

[bassman]

I’ve also wanted to find this cut after Ned mentioned it in the shout box the other day. I barely remember the original cut at all, so an improved version could be great for a revisit! Something I forgot that I wanted to mention with Rambo: First Blood Part II: I don’t know anything about helicopters really, but is it possible to fire the door-mounted machine guns from the cockpit in the front?? Rambo III Without a doubt the worst of the series, but there are still certain elements that work. Mostly in an 80’s OTT actioner kind of way. The change of scenery is also nice, going from the usual jungles and greens, to the desert lands representing Afghanistan. Overall I sort of enjoyed it in an 80’s cheese fashion. Silly action, dumb one-liners, etc. Rambo There’s no denying that Stallone did a great job reviving this series with the fourth installment. He chose to lean into the more fantastical and OTT style of 2 and 3, which works, but I would have preferred if he’d taken it back to the style of First Blood. The use of real news footage with real dead bodies and carnage is very jarring at the start of the film. That’s the intent, of course, but I’m not sure I would have used real lives in the same way. Kinda disturbing, but it does help to show other people across the globe what sort of atrocities are occurring in war-torn areas like Burma. In all, this is a good entry, probably the second best after the original. Looking forward to Last Blood while hoping they can scale back the 80’s style action and bring it more in line with the original. Black Panther I’ve tried again, and I just still don’t get it?? I understand why the film was a cultural milestone and how it’s one of those releases that come along at just the right time, but a great film, this is not. At best it’s a six or seven out of ten, it’s just your generic superhero flick. Nothing special, but then it was nominated for BEST PICTURE at the Oscars?!? Not that the Academy Awards haven’t been a joke for years, but having this film in that category just completely discredits the Academy’s picks even further. In the end, it’s just an okay flick. Nothing more than an okay way to waste ninety minutes. I just can’t wrap my head around the high praise it’s received?!?

[EvilNed]

What what WHAT? There's a 40min longer version? and it works well? Wow! Yepp! It's mostly more worldbuilding, but also some plot holes are filled in. Much more depth is given to the smokers. We learn a lot more about their motivations and how their society works. Essentially they're a religious cult named the Church of Eternal Growth, obviously a jab at consumerism. They want to find Dryland because they realize they can no longer sustain themselves on pillaging atolls as there are fewer and fewer of them left. There's also more focus given to the end of the world aspect of it - several added and extended scenes deal with that the people (including the smokers) are realizing that there's not much left and that their way of life is ending. Thus Dryland becomes a hope to save the human race, which otherwise would perish from lack of water, food and new supplies.

[shootemindehead]

I don’t know anything about helicopters really, but is it possible to fire the door-mounted machine guns from the cockpit in the front?? It's possible on the Huey in question. It was easy enough to rig fixed guns in a forward position and run an electric switch into the cockpit. That helicopter in the film is ridiculous though. One man army nonsense.

[bassman]

It's possible on the Huey in question. It was easy enough to rig fixed guns in a forward position and run an electric switch into the cockpit. That helicopter in the film is ridiculous though. One man army nonsense. Thanks for the insight! As I said, I don’t know anything about them, but I knew in other films and footage that there was always a gunner in position when that side gun was used, so it struck me as strange in the film when Rambo is controlling everything on his own from the cockpit. As you say, the silly one man army stuff...

[shootemindehead]

Thanks for the insight! As I said, I don’t know anything about them, but I knew in other films and footage that there was always a gunner in position when that side gun was used, so it struck me as strange in the film when Rambo is controlling everything on his own from the cockpit. As you say, the silly one man army stuff... You could rig different gun types to Bell UH-1 helicopters. The standard was to have an M60 mounted on the side doors and operated by a gunner. But in the scene you posted, the helicopter is a "twin Huey", built in 1970 and it had a forward firing M134 or the famous "minigun". This was electrically powered and cabled to a switch in the cockpit. It was specifically designed for helicopter use, so in that respect the scene is "accurate" enough. At least he didn't carry it around with him, like Bill Duke did in 'Predator'. That was utterly ridiculous, in that he'd never be able to fire it because it would knock him over, there was no electrical source to power it and how would he carry the 1000's of rounds of ammo that the gun would use? However, the reality is, Rambo would have been blown out of the sky on his second or third pass. He's flying so low and slow, there would have been a thousand bullets fired into that machine before he could say "silly action sequence".

[bassman]

At least he didn't carry it around with him, like Bill Duke did in 'Predator'. That was utterly ridiculous, in that he'd never be able to fire it because it would knock him over, there was no electrical source to power it and how would he carry the 1000's of rounds of ammo that the gun would use? Coincidentally, that WAS the plan for the massive gun used in the fourth film(50 caliber? I don’t know much about guns, either. Clearly I’m not much of a “man’s man”. ). The one on the back of the truck that rips bodies to shreds. Stallone could pick it up, but couldn’t really move around with it, so then they used it on the truck.

[MinionZombie]

Death Wish (2018) Oooooh boy.... Eli Roth (director) and Joe Carnahan (writer) have both done far superior work to this ... far, far superior. Tonally the film is all over the shop, trying to smash Death Wish (1974) with 'Death Wish: The Canon Films Years' (1980s), so you're swaying wildly from Bruce Willis phoning-in widower misery to phoning-in macho action one liners. There's some interesting ideas on offer which play into a 21st Century take on the material (e.g. how-to videos on YouTube, vigilante violence gone viral) and the films ever-so briefly touches on the easy access to weaponry in America - but runs away from the topic very quickly so it doesn't piss off any gun owner viewers. The violence is all over the place, too. The criminal attack in the original movie is horrifying and viscious, whereas here you do get the injustice of it, but again the film seems so scared to brutalise its audience and as such it feels a bit weak ... then, during the revenge portion of the movie, you get sudden moments of grand guignol gore (e.g. the car jack moment). There's a few interesting aspects, like I said (the main character is now a doctor saving lives by day and taking them by night), and it makes some clumsy attempts to talk about vigilante justice vs a police force, but again, it is an absolute tonal mess. Rewind to 2007 and "Death Sentence" (starring Kevn Bacon) did a much better job. Naturally, this 2018 remake blows goats compared to the 1974 original. Despite Bronson's tough guy persona, he actually pulled off the 'gentle architect family man' thing in the movie quite well ... Bruce Willis, on the other hand, cannot convince you that he's a doctor in this movie. The gun toting stuff yeah, 'cos we've seen him do that since the 1980s - and as such there's a lot of baggage brought along with him. Not the right casting choice, to be perfectly frank. Coincidentally, that WAS the plan for the massive gun used in the fourth film(50 caliber? I don’t know much about guns, either. Clearly I’m not much of a “man’s man”. ). The one on the back of the truck that rips bodies to shreds. Stallone could pick it up, but couldn’t really move around with it, so then they used it on the truck. Oh, man ... it may sound a l'il screwed up, but that .50 cal scene in Rambo is the best part of the movie. Me and a bunch of mates went to see it in the cinema and the concussive force of the sound system was overwhelming. You could feel your ribcage rattling as Rambo fired off that gun. After all the fucked up stuff the baddies had done you're all revved up for some payback, and boy do you get it. Also, this:

[Neil]

Free Solo - Documentary: Alex Honnold attempts to conquer the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan's 900-metre vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park. While a few parts of it feel like padding, a lot of it is simply edge of your seat stuff!