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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 6:34:03 GMT
Welcome back to another week of the BEST & WORST edition of 'what movies did you see last week?' thread. For those who haven't been part of it before, basically your host (me) posts my weekly movies and you can comment on those and list your movie for the same time frame. I will get back to you on yours and you can talk to other users here about their films. It's a great place to talk about film.
FIRST TIME MOVIE VIEWING
In a Valley of Violence (2016, Ti West) Cult horror director Ti West brings us a dark, gritty revenge western that despite some budgetary constraints is mostly successful. Ethan Hawke (Before Sunset) plays a mysterious stranger who because of a random act of violence drags a town of misfits and nitwits into his crosshairs. The lack of extras outside the main cast is the main stroke against this film, everything else worked pretty well. 7-7.5/10
The King of Staten Island (2020, Judd Apatow) A solid enough drama, comedy that centres around SNL cast member Pete Davidson who in a semi autobiographical way plays a messed up young man who lost his father in a fire. The acting and film making is pretty solid here but the film is about 45 minutes too padded and Davidson is not that likeable. 6/10
Fletch Lives (1989, Michael Ritchie) I had seen bits of this on tv decades ago but never the whole thing. The setting is very different from the original film with this one primarily set in the south as opposed to a coastal city. It is not as smooth as the original but not the train wreck some report it to be. 5/10
Foul Play (1978, Colin Higgins) This somewhat comedic crime film stars Goldie Hawn (Private Bejamin) as a shy San Francisco librarian who together with a bumbling cop (Chevy Chase) fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church. Film starts strong but starts to drag and ultimately is not totally satisfying. 5/10
Dreamscape (1984, Joseph Ruben) Dennis Quaid (Any Given Sunday plays a young psychic who is recruited by a government agency experimenting with the use of the dream-sharing technology and is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of the U.S. president. There are some interesting idea but a large section of the film is pretty dull, it has a solid enough third act though. 4.5/10
House (1986, Steve Miner) This whacky horror stars William Kat (The Greatest American Hero) as a troubled writer who moves into a haunted house after inheriting it from his aunt. The film is trying to imitate the successful style of The Evil Dead but does not have that kind of talent in front or behind the camera to make it work. 3.5/10
REPEAT MOVIE VIEWING
The Usual Suspects (1995, Bryan Singer) Netflix Decided to watch this again this week with my partner. This is a very tautly told tale with superb performances and it is really well made. Whomever Bryan Singer was working with back then, he should have stayed with because his films have never been as well put together since. 8-8.5/10
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, JJ Abrams) UHD Disc Well this first chapter in the 'sequel trilogy' is just so well crafted, maybe the most visually awe inspiring modern blockbuster there is. The cinematography, design, pacing and editing are all on point. It sets us up with some great new characters and only a couple (Snoke, Hux) that do not work. Unfortunately the next chapter treated the story set up with disdain but The Force Awakens magic cannot be denied. 8/10
Fanboys (2009, Kyle Newman) blu ray This comedy is a fun love letter to Star Wars that sees a group of Star Wars fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) before its release. 7/10
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, JJ Abrams) UHD Disc This final chapter in the 'sequel trilogy' is stunning to look at and brings the main characters together for an adventure but has too much ground to cover with having to be a default 2nd and 3rd act to the trilogy as well as bringing back an old villain because the last chapter did not advance the plot and also left the story with nowhere to go. So the editing and stpry telling is pretty ramshackle. However it is still a whole heap of gorgeous fun. 7/10
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, Ron Howard) blu ray Ron Howard has directed perhaps the ugliest looking Star Wars film ever made. Despite that and the too on the nose checklist style story telling, this origin story of the fabled character is actually quite fun for what it is. 6.5/10
Fletch (1985, Michael Ritchie) This comedy of a film noir styled story sees Chevy Chase play a newspaper reporter being offered a large sum to kill a cancerous millionaire, but is on the run, risking his job and finding clues as to why, 6/10
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2016, Rian Johnson) blu ray So after finding a stack of these in a bargain bin, I am finally watching the second chapter of the 'Sequel Trilogy' for a second time. I liked the same few bits and disliked all the same stuff and what was much more apparent to me after a second viewing is exactly how ugly this film is in comparison to the chapters on either side. This chapter uses much more digital effects than the others in the trilogy and everything lacks weight and size. This of course would not be that bad if the story was good but for the most part there is not a story. The one good thing character wise is the continuation of the mental and emotional battle between Rey and Kylo which is the heart and best part thematically of all three films. Other than that the film ends pretty much in the same position for all the characters as the last film only removing Snoke and Luke from the playing field. Going into the next chapter all mysteries from the first film have been scrubbed away and now you have Kylo as the leader of the villains but he has already been beat twice by our hero, so... umm yeah. At least this time while watching the film I was aware of how abrasively it did not want to be part of a trilogy in advance so it did not rattle me as much. 4/10
WEEKLY FILM AWARDS
BEST FILM: The Usual Suspects BEST ACTOR: Ethan Hawke - In a Valley of Violence BEST ACTRESS: Daisy Ridley - The Force Awakens BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kevin Spacey - The BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Taissa Farmiga - In a Valley of Violence BEST EDITING: John Ottman - The Usual Suspects BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Dan Mindel - The Force Awakens BEST SCRIPT: Christopher McQuarrie - The Usual Suspects BEST SCORE: John Williams - The Force Awakens BEST DIRECTOR: JJ Abrams - The Force Awakens
10/10 - Perfection (or as close to it as possible) 09/10 - An Excellent film 08/10 - A VERY Good film 07/10 - A Good film 06/10 - A Solid film 05/10 - An Average film 04/10 - Below Average film 03/10 - A mostly bad film 02/10 - A mostly terrible film 01/10 - Awful through and through 00/10 - Not only awful but offensive too
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Post by jcush on Jun 21, 2020 6:45:59 GMT
House - 7/10 The Usual Suspects - 8/10 The Force Awakens - 7/10 The Rise of Skywalker - Crap. 4.5/10 Solo - Dull. 5/10 The Last Jedi - 5.5/10 First Time Viewings:
Vera Cruz (1954, Robert Aldrich) Pretty good western with a solid story and good performances. Burt Lancaster is awesome here. 7/10
A Boy and His Dog (1975, L.Q. Jones) I enjoyed the vision of the future in this one and the bickering between the title characters was fun. The last act wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite as interesting as what came before and slightly held the film back for me. 6.5/10
Dead Reckoning (1947, John Cromwell) Pretty good noir with good performances from Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott. 7/10
Adam Resurrected (2008, Paul Schrader) Jeff Goldblum's accent is inconsistent at times, but overall he's very good here and the film is pretty good too. 7/10
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, Luis Buñuel) Well made and well acted. I'm not entirely sure what it all means, but I found it thoroughly engaging throughout. 7.5/10
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964, Luis Buñuel) Second film I watched this week where I mostly liked it, but a slightly weaker final act held it back a bit. 6.5/10
Angel Face (1953, Otto Preminger) This one gets better as it goes along and has a terrific ending, which bumped my score up half a point. Robert Mitchum is good and Jean Simmons is even better. 7.5/10
Experiment in Terror (1962, Blake Edwards) The finale was a bit flat compared to the rest of the movie, but I still liked it overall. It has some terrific moments, a good score, and good performances. 7/10
Safety Last! (1923, Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor) Enjoyable silent film with some fun gags and impressive stunts. 7/10
The More the Merrier (1943, George Stevens) Fun movie with good performances. 7/10
Repeat Viewings:
The Lineup (1958, Don Siegel) Good throughout, but the finale brings it up a notch for me. Eli Wallach is really good here. 8/10
Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino) My favorite film. 10/10
Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks) Good one from Mel Brooks. Has plenty of good laughs and the cast is a lot of fun. 7.5/10
Movie Awards:
BEST FILM: Pulp Fiction BEST ACTOR: Jeff Goldblum (Adam Resurrected) BEST ACTRESS: Jean Simmons (Angel Face) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction) BEST SCORE: Henry Mancini (Experiment in Terror) BEST SCRIPT: Quentin Taarantino & Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) BEST DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jun 21, 2020 6:53:26 GMT
Fletch Lives - 9/10 Foul Play - 6/10 Dreamscape - 6/10 House - 4/10 The Usual Suspects - 6/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 5/10 Solo: A Star Wars Story - 5/10 Fletch - 10/10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 2/10 Mine: Licence to Kill (1989) - 10/10 - Blu RayMy favorite Bond film! The World Is Not Enough (1999) - 10/10 - Blu RayMy second favorite Bond film. Very underrated. Casino Royale (2006) - 10/10 - Blu RayFourth favorite Bond film. Great. Murder Party (2007) - 9/10 - DVDGreat fun horror comedy. Psycho Nurse aka Munchausen by Internet (2019) - 4/10 - DVDWatchable but generic thriller. House of the Witch (2017) - 3/10 - DVDDull haunted house film. Good effects are the only strong point. I Love Trouble (1994) - 4/10 - VHSKinda lame mystery comedy with Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte. What Kind of Mother Are You? (1996) - 5/10 - DVDOK made for TV thriller. Crawlspace (1972) - 3/10 - DVDDull drama about a guy living in a old couples basement. The Zombie King (2013) - 1/10 - DVDOne of the worst zombie films ever. Edward Furlong and Corey Feldman star. BEST FILM THIS WEEk: WORST FILM THIS WEEK:
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jun 21, 2020 6:55:30 GMT
Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino) My favorite film. 10/10 Cool. Its on my top 10. I even have the poster on my bedroom door hanging up.
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 7:44:44 GMT
House - 7/10 The Usual Suspects - 8/10 The Force Awakens - 7/10 The Rise of Skywalker - Crap. 4.5/10 Solo - Dull. 5/10 The Last Jedi - 5.5/10 First Time Viewings:
Vera Cruz (1954, Robert Aldrich) Pretty good western with a solid story and good performances. Burt Lancaster is awesome here. 7/10
A Boy and His Dog (1975, L.Q. Jones) I enjoyed the vision of the future in this one and the bickering between the title characters was fun. The last act wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite as interesting as what came before and slightly held the film back for me. 6.5/10
Dead Reckoning (1947, John Cromwell) Pretty good noir with good performances from Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott. 7/10
Adam Resurrected (2008, Paul Schrader) Jeff Goldblum's accent is inconsistent at times, but overall he's very good here and the film is pretty good too. 7/10
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, Luis Buñuel) Well made and well acted. I'm not entirely sure what it all means, but I found it thoroughly engaging throughout. 7.5/10
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964, Luis Buñuel) Second film I watched this week where I mostly liked it, but a slightly weaker final act held it back a bit. 6.5/10
Angel Face (1953, Otto Preminger) This one gets better as it goes along and has a terrific ending, which bumped my score up half a point. Robert Mitchum is good and Jean Simmons is even better. 7.5/10
Experiment in Terror (1962, Blake Edwards) The finale was a bit flat compared to the rest of the movie, but I still liked it overall. It has some terrific moments, a good score, and good performances. 7/10
Safety Last! (1923, Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor) Enjoyable silent film with some fun gags and impressive stunts. 7/10
The More the Merrier (1943, George Stevens) Fun movie with good performances. 7/10
Repeat Viewings:
The Lineup (1958, Don Siegel) Good throughout, but the finale brings it up a notch for me. Eli Wallach is really good here. 8/10
Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino) My favorite film. 10/10
Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks) Good one from Mel Brooks. Has plenty of good laughs and the cast is a lot of fun. 7.5/10
Movie Awards:
BEST FILM: Pulp Fiction BEST ACTOR: Jeff Goldblum (Adam Resurrected) BEST ACTRESS: Jean Simmons (Angel Face) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction) BEST SCORE: Henry Mancini (Experiment in Terror) BEST SCRIPT: Quentin Taarantino & Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) BEST DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) Vera Cruz (1954, Robert Aldrich) Not seen since I was a kid Dead Reckoning (1947, John Cromwell) I don’t remember it super well but I gave it a 6/10 at the time The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, Luis Buñuel) I actually remember it being surprisingly poorly made for a bunuel film 4.5 Experiment in Terror (1962, Blake Edwards) On my watchlist The Lineup (1958, Don Siegel) I’m a fan 7/10 Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino) Top 50 for me for sure 9/10 Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks) 7.5
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 7:46:29 GMT
Fletch Lives - 9/10 Foul Play - 6/10 Dreamscape - 6/10 House - 4/10 The Usual Suspects - 6/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 5/10 Solo: A Star Wars Story - 5/10 Fletch - 10/10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 2/10 Mine: Licence to Kill (1989) - 10/10 - Blu RayMy favorite Bond film! The World Is Not Enough (1999) - 10/10 - Blu RayMy second favorite Bond film. Very underrated. Casino Royale (2006) - 10/10 - Blu RayFourth favorite Bond film. Great. Murder Party (2007) - 9/10 - DVDGreat fun horror comedy. Psycho Nurse aka Munchausen by Internet (2019) - 4/10 - DVDWatchable but generic thriller. House of the Witch (2017) - 3/10 - DVDDull haunted house film. Good effects are the only strong point. I Love Trouble (1994) - 4/10 - VHSKinda lame mystery comedy with Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte. What Kind of Mother Are You? (1996) - 5/10 - DVDOK made for TV thriller. Crawlspace (1972) - 3/10 - DVDDull drama about a guy living in a old couples basement. The Zombie King (2013) - 1/10 - DVDOne of the worst zombie films ever. Edward Furlong and Corey Feldman star. BEST FILM THIS WEEk: WORST FILM THIS WEEK: Licence to Kill (1989) - top 5 bond for me 8/10 The World Is Not Enough (1999) - 3.5 Casino Royale (2006) - top 5 bond fir me 8/10 Murder Party (2007) - worst film by this director for me 4/10
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Post by James on Jun 21, 2020 8:51:39 GMT
House - 7.5/10 The Force Awakens - 8/10 The Rise of Skywalker - 7/10 Solo - 7/10 The Last Jedi - 7/10 (still better than RoS)
First Time Viewings:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix Excellent first half to the finale. I really like the being chased after story and it had some strong tension. 8/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix An exciting and wonderful conclusion to the series. Best one out of the lot. 8/10
Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV This slasher movie with malfunctioned robots set in a mall is a lot of fun. 7.5/10
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) - Netflix One of DreamWorks’ earlier animated films with the hand-drawn animation. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, the music is nice, and I like the wordless storytelling with the horses. As a movie, it’s better than El Dorado, but I enjoy that film more. So it’s good but not great. 7/10
Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. Finally watched it and it was very distressing but worked very well. 8/10
The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix From a 3.25 hour movie to a really short, 68 minute movie, lol. It’s a cute animated film by Don Bluth, and I enjoyed it although I expected a bit more out of it. 7/10
Repeat Viewings:
The Road to El Dorado (2000) - Netflix Another one of these DreamWorks movies. It’s a lot of fun and one of their funniest movies. 7/10
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) - Netflix The last hand-drawn animated movie of theirs. I remember watching this on VHS but didn’t have enough memory of the whole movie. Not quite as good as other DreamWorks films but still enjoyable to an extent. Prince of Egypt still remains my favourite of these kinds of movies from the company. 6.5/10
Final Ranking for HP: DH2 POA DH1 SS GOF HBP COS OOTP
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Post by Xcalatë on Jun 21, 2020 10:10:04 GMT
15/06 The Report (2019) 6/10 Human Capital (2019) 6/10
16/06 Space Probe Taurus (1965) 5/10 Inheritance (2020) 4/10
17/06 While You Were Sleeping (1995) 8/10 7500 (2019) 5/10
18/06 Sergio (2020) 6/10 Body Cam (2020) 6/10
19/06 Goud (2020) 7/10 Dating Amber (2020) 8/10
20/06 Uncle Drew (2018) 3/10 Shirley (2020) 3/10
21/06 The Creeper (1948) 6/10 The High Note (2020) 4/10
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 10:11:20 GMT
House - 7.5/10 The Force Awakens - 8/10 The Rise of Skywalker - 7/10 Solo - 7/10 The Last Jedi - 7/10 (still better than RoS) First Time Viewings:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix Excellent first half to the finale. I really like the being chased after story and it had some strong tension. 8/10Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix An exciting and wonderful conclusion to the series. Best one out of the lot. 8/10Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV This slasher movie with malfunctioned robots set in a mall is a lot of fun. 7.5/10Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) - Netflix One of DreamWorks’ earlier animated films with the hand-drawn animation. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, the music is nice, and I like the wordless storytelling with the horses. As a movie, it’s better than El Dorado, but I enjoy that film more. So it’s good but not great. 7/10Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. Finally watched it and it was very distressing but worked very well. 8/10The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix From a 3.25 hour movie to a really short, 68 minute movie, lol. It’s a cute animated film by Don Bluth, and I enjoyed it although I expected a bit more out of it. 7/10Repeat Viewings:The Road to El Dorado (2000) - Netflix Another one of these DreamWorks movies. It’s a lot of fun and one of their funniest movies. 7/10Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) - Netflix The last hand-drawn animated movie of theirs. I remember watching this on VHS but didn’t have enough memory of the whole movie. Not quite as good as other DreamWorks films but still enjoyable to an extent. Prince of Egypt still remains my favourite of these kinds of movies from the company. 6.5/10Final Ranking for HP: DH2 POA DH1 SS GOF HBP COS OOTP Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix 6.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix 7/10 Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV 3/10 Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. One of spielbergs best 8/10 The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix Cute and fun 6/10
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 10:13:13 GMT
15/06The Report (2019) 6/10Human Capital (2019) 6/1016/06Space Probe Taurus (1965) 5/10Inheritance (2020) 4/1017/06While You Were Sleeping (1995) 8/107500 (2019) 5/10 18/06Sergio (2020) 6/10Body Cam (2020) 6/1019/06Goud (2020) 7/10Dating Amber (2020) 8/1020/06Uncle Drew (2018) 3/10Shirley (2020) 3/1021/06The Creeper (1948) 6/10The High Note (2020) 4/10 The Report (2019) 7/10 Human Capital (2019) 6/10
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Post by James on Jun 21, 2020 10:37:49 GMT
House - 7.5/10 The Force Awakens - 8/10 The Rise of Skywalker - 7/10 Solo - 7/10 The Last Jedi - 7/10 (still better than RoS) First Time Viewings:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix Excellent first half to the finale. I really like the being chased after story and it had some strong tension. 8/10Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix An exciting and wonderful conclusion to the series. Best one out of the lot. 8/10Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV This slasher movie with malfunctioned robots set in a mall is a lot of fun. 7.5/10Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) - Netflix One of DreamWorks’ earlier animated films with the hand-drawn animation. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, the music is nice, and I like the wordless storytelling with the horses. As a movie, it’s better than El Dorado, but I enjoy that film more. So it’s good but not great. 7/10Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. Finally watched it and it was very distressing but worked very well. 8/10The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix From a 3.25 hour movie to a really short, 68 minute movie, lol. It’s a cute animated film by Don Bluth, and I enjoyed it although I expected a bit more out of it. 7/10Repeat Viewings:The Road to El Dorado (2000) - Netflix Another one of these DreamWorks movies. It’s a lot of fun and one of their funniest movies. 7/10Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) - Netflix The last hand-drawn animated movie of theirs. I remember watching this on VHS but didn’t have enough memory of the whole movie. Not quite as good as other DreamWorks films but still enjoyable to an extent. Prince of Egypt still remains my favourite of these kinds of movies from the company. 6.5/10Final Ranking for HP: DH2 POA DH1 SS GOF HBP COS OOTP Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix 6.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix 7/10 Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV 3/10 Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. One of spielbergs best 8/10 The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix Cute and fun 6/10 I hope you don’t mind me asking but how would you rank the Potter films?
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 10:47:25 GMT
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix 6.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix 7/10 Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV 3/10 Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. One of spielbergs best 8/10 The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix Cute and fun 6/10 I hope you don’t mind me asking but how would you rank the Potter films? Not at all POA HBP DH2 DH1 GOF TSS OOTP COS
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 21, 2020 11:57:22 GMT
Movie Awards:
BEST FILM: Pulp Fiction BEST ACTOR: Jeff Goldblum (Adam Resurrected) BEST ACTRESS: Jean Simmons (Angel Face) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction) BEST SCORE: Henry Mancini (Experiment in Terror) BEST SCRIPT: Quentin Taarantino & Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) BEST DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) Movie Awards: BEST FILM: Pulp Fiction BEST ACTOR: Cleavon Little (Blazing Saddles) BEST ACTRESS: BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction) BEST SCRIPT: Quentin Taarantino & Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) BEST DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
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Post by politicidal on Jun 21, 2020 14:23:03 GMT
New Viewings:
Limitless (2011) 7/10
Masters of the Universe (1987) 4/10
Predestination (2014) 5/10
Repeats:
Coming to America (1988) 8/10
Trading Places (1983) 7/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 21, 2020 15:08:43 GMT
Welcome back to another week of the BEST & WORST edition of 'what movies did you see last week?' thread. For those who haven't been part of it before, basically your host (me) posts my weekly movies and you can comment on those and list your movie for the same time frame. I will get back to you on yours and you can talk to other users here about their films. It's a great place to talk about film. FIRST TIME MOVIE VIEWING
In a Valley of Violence (2016, Ti West)
Cult horror director Ti West brings us a dark, gritty revenge western that despite some budgetary constraints is mostly successful. Ethan Hawke (Before Sunset) plays a mysterious stranger who because of a random act of violence drags a town of misfits and nitwits into his crosshairs. The lack of extras outside the main cast is the main stroke against this film, everything else worked pretty well. 7-7.5/10 The King of Staten Island (2020, Judd Apatow)
A solid enough drama, comedy that centres around SNL cast member Pete Davidson who in a semi autobiographical way plays a messed up young man who lost his father in a fire. The acting and film making is pretty solid here but the film is about 45 minutes too padded and Davidson is not that likeable. 6/10 Fletch Lives (1989, Michael Ritchie)
I had seen bits of this on tv decades ago but never the whole thing. The setting is very different from the original film with this one primarily set in the south as opposed to a coastal city. It is not as smooth as the original but not the train wreck some report it to be. 5/10 Foul Play (1978, Colin Higgins)
This somewhat comedic crime film stars Goldie Hawn (Private Bejamin) as a shy San Francisco librarian who together with a bumbling cop (Chevy Chase) fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church. Film starts strong but starts to drag and ultimately is not totally satisfying. 5/10 Dreamscape (1984, Joseph Ruben)
Dennis Quaid (Any Given Sunday plays a young psychic who is recruited by a government agency experimenting with the use of the dream-sharing technology and is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of the U.S. president. There are some interesting idea but a large section of the film is pretty dull, it has a solid enough third act though. 4.5/10 House (1986, Steve Miner)
This whacky horror stars William Kat (The Greatest American Hero) as a troubled writer who moves into a haunted house after inheriting it from his aunt. The film is trying to imitate the successful style of The Evil Dead but does not have that kind of talent in front or behind the camera to make it work. 3.5/10 REPEAT MOVIE VIEWING
The Usual Suspects (1995, Bryan Singer) Netflix
Decided to watch this again this week with my partner. This is a very tautly told tale with superb performances and it is really well made. Whomever Bryan Singer was working with back then, he should have stayed with because his films have never been as well put together since. 8-8.5/10Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, JJ Abrams) UHD Disc
Well this first chapter in the 'sequel trilogy' is just so well crafted, maybe the most visually awe inspiring modern blockbuster there is. The cinematography, design, pacing and editing are all on point. It sets us up with some great new characters and only a couple (Snoke, Hux) that do not work. Unfortunately the next chapter treated the story set up with disdain but The Force Awakens magic cannot be denied. 8/10 Fanboys (2009, Kyle Newman) blu ray
This comedy is a fun love letter to Star Wars that sees a group of Star Wars fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) before its release. 7/10 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, JJ Abrams) UHD Disc
This final chapter in the 'sequel trilogy' is stunning to look at and brings the main characters together for an adventure but has too much ground to cover with having to be a default 2nd and 3rd act to the trilogy as well as bringing back an old villain because the last chapter did not advance the plot and also left the story with nowhere to go. So the editing and stpry telling is pretty ramshackle. However it is still a whole heap of gorgeous fun. 7/10 Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, Ron Howard) blu ray
Ron Howard has directed perhaps the ugliest looking Star Wars film ever made. Despite that and the too on the nose checklist style story telling, this origin story of the fabled character is actually quite fun for what it is. 6.5/10 Fletch (1985, Michael Ritchie)
This comedy of a film noir styled story sees Chevy Chase play a newspaper reporter being offered a large sum to kill a cancerous millionaire, but is on the run, risking his job and finding clues as to why, 6/10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2016, Rian Johnson) blu ray
So after finding a stack of these in a bargain bin, I am finally watching the second chapter of the 'Sequel Trilogy' for a second time. I liked the same few bits and disliked all the same stuff and what was much more apparent to me after a second viewing is exactly how ugly this film is in comparison to the chapters on either side. This chapter uses much more digital effects than the others in the trilogy and everything lacks weight and size. This of course would not be that bad if the story was good but for the most part there is not a story. The one good thing character wise is the continuation of the mental and emotional battle between Rey and Kylo which is the heart and best part thematically of all three films. Other than that the film ends pretty much in the same position for all the characters as the last film only removing Snoke and Luke from the playing field. Going into the next chapter all mysteries from the first film have been scrubbed away and now you have Kylo as the leader of the villains but he has already been beat twice by our hero, so... umm yeah. At least this time while watching the film I was aware of how abrasively it did not want to be part of a trilogy in advance so it did not rattle me as much. 4/10
WEEKLY FILM AWARDS
BEST FILM: The Usual Suspects BEST ACTOR: Ethan Hawke - In a Valley of Violence BEST ACTRESS: Daisy Ridley - The Force Awakens BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kevin Spacey - The BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Taissa Farmiga - In a Valley of Violence BEST EDITING: John Ottman - The Usual Suspects BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Dan Mindel - The Force Awakens BEST SCRIPT: Christopher McQuarrie - The Usual Suspects BEST SCORE: John Williams - The Force Awakens BEST DIRECTOR: JJ Abrams - The Force Awakens 10/10 - Perfection (or as close to it as possible) 09/10 - An Excellent film 08/10 - A VERY Good film 07/10 - A Good film 06/10 - A Solid film 05/10 - An Average film 04/10 - Below Average film 03/10 - A mostly bad film 02/10 - A mostly terrible film 01/10 - Awful through and through 00/10 - Not only awful but offensive too Dreamscape (1984, Joseph Ruben) I had seen this film as a kid and found it really fascinating and had been looking for it ever since not remembering either title or any of the cast’s names just finding out recently about it. 7/10 The Usual Suspects (1995, Bryan Singer) 7/10 Fletch (1985, Michael Ritchie) An okay movie, you can see the twist coming for a mile, but it’s good harmless fun. 6/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 21, 2020 15:16:05 GMT
House - 7/10 The Usual Suspects - 8/10 The Force Awakens - 7/10 The Rise of Skywalker - Crap. 4.5/10 Solo - Dull. 5/10 The Last Jedi - 5.5/10 First Time Viewings:
Vera Cruz (1954, Robert Aldrich) Pretty good western with a solid story and good performances. Burt Lancaster is awesome here. 7/10
A Boy and His Dog (1975, L.Q. Jones) I enjoyed the vision of the future in this one and the bickering between the title characters was fun. The last act wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite as interesting as what came before and slightly held the film back for me. 6.5/10
Dead Reckoning (1947, John Cromwell) Pretty good noir with good performances from Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott. 7/10
Adam Resurrected (2008, Paul Schrader) Jeff Goldblum's accent is inconsistent at times, but overall he's very good here and the film is pretty good too. 7/10
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, Luis Buñuel) Well made and well acted. I'm not entirely sure what it all means, but I found it thoroughly engaging throughout. 7.5/10
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964, Luis Buñuel) Second film I watched this week where I mostly liked it, but a slightly weaker final act held it back a bit. 6.5/10
Angel Face (1953, Otto Preminger) This one gets better as it goes along and has a terrific ending, which bumped my score up half a point. Robert Mitchum is good and Jean Simmons is even better. 7.5/10
Experiment in Terror (1962, Blake Edwards) The finale was a bit flat compared to the rest of the movie, but I still liked it overall. It has some terrific moments, a good score, and good performances. 7/10
Safety Last! (1923, Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor) Enjoyable silent film with some fun gags and impressive stunts. 7/10
The More the Merrier (1943, George Stevens) Fun movie with good performances. 7/10
Repeat Viewings:
The Lineup (1958, Don Siegel) Good throughout, but the finale brings it up a notch for me. Eli Wallach is really good here. 8/10
Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino) My favorite film. 10/10
Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks) Good one from Mel Brooks. Has plenty of good laughs and the cast is a lot of fun. 7.5/10
Movie Awards:
BEST FILM: Pulp Fiction BEST ACTOR: Jeff Goldblum (Adam Resurrected) BEST ACTRESS: Jean Simmons (Angel Face) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction) BEST SCORE: Henry Mancini (Experiment in Terror) BEST SCRIPT: Quentin Taarantino & Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) BEST DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) Adam Resurrected (2008, Paul Schrader) The story is powerful and disturbing, but I thought Schrader’s handling of it was disappointingly unimaginative. Dafoe and Goldblum are committed, but I wish someone else would’ve tackled this material. 4/10 Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks) Good broad comedy. 7/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 21, 2020 15:23:50 GMT
Fletch Lives - 9/10 Foul Play - 6/10 Dreamscape - 6/10 House - 4/10 The Usual Suspects - 6/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 5/10 Solo: A Star Wars Story - 5/10 Fletch - 10/10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 2/10 Mine: Licence to Kill (1989) - 10/10 - Blu RayMy favorite Bond film! The World Is Not Enough (1999) - 10/10 - Blu RayMy second favorite Bond film. Very underrated. Casino Royale (2006) - 10/10 - Blu RayFourth favorite Bond film. Great. Murder Party (2007) - 9/10 - DVDGreat fun horror comedy. Psycho Nurse aka Munchausen by Internet (2019) - 4/10 - DVDWatchable but generic thriller. House of the Witch (2017) - 3/10 - DVDDull haunted house film. Good effects are the only strong point. I Love Trouble (1994) - 4/10 - VHSKinda lame mystery comedy with Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte. What Kind of Mother Are You? (1996) - 5/10 - DVDOK made for TV thriller. Crawlspace (1972) - 3/10 - DVDDull drama about a guy living in a old couples basement. The Zombie King (2013) - 1/10 - DVDOne of the worst zombie films ever. Edward Furlong and Corey Feldman star. BEST FILM THIS WEEk: WORST FILM THIS WEEK: Licence to Kill (1989) – 7/10 The World Is Not Enough (1999) - 8/10 Casino Royale (2006) – 4/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 21, 2020 15:32:20 GMT
House - 7.5/10 The Force Awakens - 8/10 The Rise of Skywalker - 7/10 Solo - 7/10 The Last Jedi - 7/10 (still better than RoS) First Time Viewings:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - Netflix Excellent first half to the finale. I really like the being chased after story and it had some strong tension. 8/10Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - Netflix An exciting and wonderful conclusion to the series. Best one out of the lot. 8/10Chopping Mall (1986) - TubiTV This slasher movie with malfunctioned robots set in a mall is a lot of fun. 7.5/10Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) - Netflix One of DreamWorks’ earlier animated films with the hand-drawn animation. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, the music is nice, and I like the wordless storytelling with the horses. As a movie, it’s better than El Dorado, but I enjoy that film more. So it’s good but not great. 7/10Schindler’s List (1993) - Netflix A brilliant film. Finally watched it and it was very distressing but worked very well. 8/10The Land Before Time (1988) - Netflix From a 3.25 hour movie to a really short, 68 minute movie, lol. It’s a cute animated film by Don Bluth, and I enjoyed it although I expected a bit more out of it. 7/10Repeat Viewings:The Road to El Dorado (2000) - Netflix Another one of these DreamWorks movies. It’s a lot of fun and one of their funniest movies. 7/10Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) - Netflix The last hand-drawn animated movie of theirs. I remember watching this on VHS but didn’t have enough memory of the whole movie. Not quite as good as other DreamWorks films but still enjoyable to an extent. Prince of Egypt still remains my favourite of these kinds of movies from the company. 6.5/10Final Ranking for HP: DH2 POA DH1 SS GOF HBP COS OOTP Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) I like this first half better than the second. It has great atmosphere and is generally very well-made. 8/10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) A solid finale, perhaps not as intriguing as what came before, but it provides satisfying closure to the series. 7/10 Schindler’s List (1993) Good film. It’s difficult to depict something as horrible as the holocaust on screen. Some dislike it for being too optimistic, but that’s Spielberg. 8/10 The Road to El Dorado (2000) Very enjoyable animated comedy. 7,5/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 21, 2020 15:36:50 GMT
15/06The Report (2019) 6/10Human Capital (2019) 6/1016/06Space Probe Taurus (1965) 5/10Inheritance (2020) 4/1017/06While You Were Sleeping (1995) 8/107500 (2019) 5/10 18/06Sergio (2020) 6/10Body Cam (2020) 6/1019/06Goud (2020) 7/10Dating Amber (2020) 8/1020/06Uncle Drew (2018) 3/10Shirley (2020) 3/1021/06The Creeper (1948) 6/10The High Note (2020) 4/10 While You Were Sleeping (1995) 8/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 21, 2020 15:41:22 GMT
New Viewings:
Limitless (2011) 7/10 Masters of the Universe (1987) 4/10 Predestination (2014) 5/10 Repeats:
Coming to America (1988) 8/10 Trading Places (1983) 7/10 Limitless (2011) -7,5/10 Predestination (2014) -4/10 Coming to America (1988) -6/10 Trading Places (1983) -7,5/10
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