Last Movie You Watched? Mark 9

Apologies. I'm not used to such frivolity on my part.

Hilly KCMG wrote:

So long as the collar and cuffs match.

So I'll be doing a Carice Van Houten then?

Salomé wrote:

Hilly KCMG wrote:

So long as the collar and cuffs match.

So I'll be doing a Carice Van Houten then?

Only if their limbs are attached to horses

I'm just relieved Oppers has returned to Bush C(o)untry.

John Wick - Keanu Reeves plays the titular ex-hitman 'dragged back in' when Russian gangsters kill his dog (a parting gift from his late wife) and steal his vintage Mustang, setting him off on a 'roaring rampage of revenge'. Wick is a man of relatively few words but many, many bullets and moves of kick-assery ... probably Reeves' most entertaining flick since the first Matrix film.

Loved John Wick. Hopefully the inevitable sequels turn out half as good as the first.

The Long Good Friday (1980)

Last night I realized a good Friday passed where I didn't watch the movie so instead of suspending myself upside down in a slaughterhouse as retribution I decided to watch the film to catch up on my annual viewing. Still a classic.

Network - this was the first time I'd seen Lumet's superb media satire. 'Reality' TV, news becoming increasingly 'sensationalised', networks slavishly serving corporate interests ... all here , predicted 30-40 years in advance.

I felt it went too on the nose and comedic with the approach, like it thought it was being so clever. That's true of most Lumet films, but it didn't work for me here. Was pretty disappointed after having seen his other stuff like 12 ANGRY MEN, which I love.

I love Network myself although I walked in expecting to dislike it as Lumet is more a in-your-face with the social issues thing but the film had a dark enough sense of humor I found it enjoyable. Although after also seeing The Hospital with George C. Scott which Network's writer Paddy Chayefsky also wrote I think it's appeal to me comes more from him than it does Lumet's directing.


The Imitation Game (2014)

I admit to being somewhat uneducated on history so I don't know the real facts behind most of this except for Turing's persecution so this might taint my view on the film some as I've heard the film plays with facts loosely. Overall I did enjoy the film and while I was kind of cringing at the thought of what they were going to depict when it came up towards the end of the film, having my remote ready to fast-forward as it might be a bit much but luckily they kept the film's focus more on Turing's efforts during the war and some on his childhood as well. Thinking on the film a day after watching it though while Cumberbatch and Knightly aren't slouches in their roles Mark Strong as the MI6 chief Stewart Menzies left an even bigger impression and I honestly would like to see a movie about the early days of MI6 with Mark Strong (also makes me want to get around to seeing Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which also has Strong and Cumberbatch). Overall it does have an Oscar-bait vibe to it but I came away satisfied with the film.

Starlet (2012)

The New York Times says this is 'a thrillingly, unexpectedly good American movie about love and a moral awakening', but it passed me by completely. Surely there's a viable storypoint between superhero idiocies and no plot at all?

Murder By Decree - not QUITE as 'juicy' a prospect as Holmes and Watson investigating the Jack The Ripper murders seemed on paper (and Mason was possibly a touch on the elderly side to be playing Watson), but Plummer made for a breezily assured Holmes and the reproduction of Victorian London's foggy, cramped streets had a pleasantly sinister atmosphere.

In Fear - effective little chiller in which a young couple (Iain De Caestecker and Alice Englert) get hopelessly lost en route to their music-festival accomodation in a remote part of Ireland (after, it gradually emerges, having pissed off locals during a pub stop-off) and they are subsequently terrorised by one of same.

Fast 7 - 4 times  

I never say no to a free IMAX ticket

Lady from shanghai (1947)

Despite a decidedly dodgy Irish accent this is a wonderfully effective piece of story telling from Welles. The staging and direction really exaggerates the features and fascinators from his eclectic cast, Hayworth is stunning as a bleach blonde and the locations are all beautifully realised. (8/10)

The Blu-ray transfer is very rich, consistent and loaded with contrast - by far the best I have ever seen this look on any format.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Probably the most disjointed film I have seen since The Nan with the Golden Gun. Halfway through, there's an abrupt tonal shift that discards a lot of the legwork that the film does in favour of becoming a Michael Bay film. I strongly suspect that if it had followed through on the things it set up, it would have been a little bit too radical for the studio - it would have had far reaching consequences for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe that I don't think the studios would have been willing to commit to, so it feels like they stepped in at the last minute.

Spoiler:

The final scenes set up the future of the Avengers, but it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence:

Spoiler:

In short, it feels like a mid-season television finale, tying off old storylines and clearing the way for new ones to begin.

My only thought on Ultron was that the 'Black Widow is a whore' business was an amusing diversion, but the chattering classes' reaction was less funny. After all, what do you expect from a girl called Natasha?

More interesting to me, Revanche and Venus in Furs have appeared on Netflix Albania. Anyone here know if they're worth bothering with? I seem to recall Revanche getting excellent reviews a few years back.

Where Eagles Dare - the first time I'd seen it, believe it or not. 2 hours 35 minutes is a 'bum-number' of a running time for what is essentially a Boys' Own 'ripping yarn' adventure thing and believability is undoubtedly stretched at times, but undeniably entertaining.

The Black Dahlia - I loved it, I don't get why this is panned so often.

Interstellar (2014)

Occasionally impressive but more often an overlong and overblown Twilight Zone episode.... I was pleasantly surprised by Matthew McConaughey who played a far more restrained and believable part than I ever would have given him credit for, on the other hand Matt Damon's presence was certainly not to his credit or warranted.

6/10

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

Avengers: Age of Ultron

I don't think the studios would have been willing to commit to, so it feels like they stepped in at the last minute.

Spoiler:

The final scenes set up the future of the Avengers, but it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence

Spoiler:

Fundamentally the Marvel strategy is all about universe building and much like their comic books this involves interweaving stories and characters to con you into patronising the rest of the series etc....its in effect how soap operas work to indoctrinate an audience. It makes for cluttered and disjointed storytelling with an additional flourish of diminishing returns as they dilute and recycle ad infinitum.

Ironically the cinema as a whole is driving into territory the TV used to wallow, while quality almost cinematic TV series begin to blossom.

I wonder how much longer the superhero hype will hold on. Somewhere down the road there is a huge B.O. bomb waiting to happen.

And on that note -

Avengers : Age Of Ultron - whilst this doesn't quite hit the heights of Avengers Assemble, it has a damn good try and is still a very enjoyable night at the movies.

Mission accomplished then, fair enough. Would be interesting to see what these films would turn out like if they weren't such budget heavyweights. If they could be more playful about it, not caring so much about the opening weekend box office and the return of investors. What would Roger Corman have made of superheroes in the late sixties, maybe with Vincent Price as Doc Strange.

SarahN wrote:

I wonder how much longer the superhero hype will hold on. Somewhere down the road there is a huge B.O. bomb waiting to happen.

It's not likely to happen with the tentpole characters from either Marvel or DC...some of the B-Listers have already scored duds (Jonah Hex, Elektra etc).

Of course, I'm biased, as I make some useful market with comic related merchandise. Our Avengers stock is about 40% sold.

The most recent Batman comic is selling for as high as $100 (Endgame is a bitch of a story with the Joker) although it won't be released until Wednesday...try to grab a copy...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Batman-Vol-2-40-Andy-Kubert-1-25-Variant-Unread-High-9-8NM-Uncertified-DCcomics-/331536639162?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d311fa4ba

I think it was Spielberg (which is ironic since he himself put this all in motion with E.T.) who predicted that the current model is not sustainable for the long term.
Eventually two or three of such behemoths will fail in quick succession for one of the big studios and that will be that.