Last Movie You Watched.

The Great Beauty

quite captivating. I really can't say for sure why but was drawn in and moved along with it towards its end. Something about it that appealed, that excited but...telling a story. I fear my days of cinema writing died a quick death in my second year at university but I appreciated the film all the same. Unlike some of the eejits on IMDB who wouldn't know what a film was or writing if it landed on them.
Toni Servillo, I know not of any other works of his but something about him that drew you to the character of Jep. The face, expressive...
And in Sabrina Ferilli one of the most alluring women on screen. Had she been in a Bond film she'd have done three minutes worth I'm sure.

The Funeral (1996)

Fairly mediocre prohibition-set gangster film from Abel Ferrara that does feature a stand-out performance from Christopher Walken. Kind of a shame because while it has a lot of other great talent such as Isabella Rossellini, Benicio Del Toro and Chris Penn in it the somewhat pedestrian writing just lets the film down. Also doesn't help that the gloomy atmosphere was hindered by the lousy DVD this film had from Artisan/Echo Bridge that presents the film in 1.33 pan-and-scanned.

Point Break - the original. Bloody preposterous, of course (Johnny UTAH? REALLY?!?).

But undeniably fun ... 25 years on the action sequences still exhilarate, Lori Petty is cute as a button, and where else are you gonna see Anthony Kiedis from out of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers get shot in the foot?

The remake is apparently po-faced crap. Without the Reeves/Swayze bromance, that's not a surprise.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

The remake is apparently po-faced crap. Without the Reeves/Swayze bromance, that's not a surprise.

Instead of doing a remake they should have done the new one as a follow-up with Keanu back as Johnny Utah who takes a new agent under his wing like Busey did in the original.

Would've been better. 50 he may be, but as John Wick showed Reeves can still convincingly cut it in the action stakes.

Steve Jobs.

Brilliant. The performances were fantastic, the script sharp and the direction superb. When I saw Danny Boyle was directing in the opening credits, I immediately imagined the slum that was Slumdog Millionaire, but I was so very wrong… He has come a long way since 2008.

Michael Fassbender's performance was nothing short of brilliant and is most deserving of that Oscar. Sorry Leo. And I'd like Kate Winslet to win as well - their chemistry was brilliant.

Spotlight - a moving, anger-making but unsensationalised true-events drama about the Boston Globe journalists who (in the early Noughties) exposed decades of child abuse by priests within the Boston Archdiocese and the subsequent cover-up by the Church (which the 'great and the good' in Boston were also complicit in). Of course, since the story broke abuse scandals have come to light all over the world.

I came out of it even less keen on organised religion that I was already.

Saw Hail, Caesar! recently. Really great fun, and it's smart as usual, but it feels like its missing a third act. Characters/actors are introduced more as homages and jokes than actual characters, and they're treated as such. Surprisingly weak for them in terms of narrative, but very strong scene to scene. Entertaining. Definitely recommend it, but as a big Coen fan, I'd snootily call it "minor Coens."

Looking forward to seeing Spotlight - seeing it Wednesday night - and Hail, Caesar!, which won't get a release in Oz for a little while yet.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Spotlight - a moving, anger-making but unsensationalised true-events drama about the Boston Globe journalists who (in the early Noughties) exposed decades of child abuse by priests within the Boston Archdiocese and the subsequent cover-up by the Church (which the 'great and the good' in Boston were also complicit in). Of course, since the story broke abuse scandals have come to light all over the world.

I came out of it even less keen on organised religion that I was already.

Forgive me Blunty, but reading the last line I had an image of the late great Dave Allen perched on his stool, cigarette in one hand and scotch in the other.

In seriousness, I've only heard of this film the other day but from what I'm seeing it looks worth a watch. Hail, Caesar too.

Saw Spotlight and have very similar views to it as BI. Thought Steve Jobs was a better and more engaging film overall but still very much enjoyed Spotlight.

Hail, Caesar looks great! Still keen to catch Carol, The Hateful Eight, Brooklyn, Room and to a lesser extent, The Danish Girl.

Hilly KCMG wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Spotlight - a moving, anger-making but unsensationalised true-events drama about the Boston Globe journalists who (in the early Noughties) exposed decades of child abuse by priests within the Boston Archdiocese and the subsequent cover-up by the Church (which the 'great and the good' in Boston were also complicit in). Of course, since the story broke abuse scandals have come to light all over the world.

I came out of it even less keen on organised religion that I was already.

Forgive me Blunty, but reading the last line I had an image of the late great Dave Allen perched on his stool, cigarette in one hand and scotch in the other.

In seriousness, I've only heard of this film the other day but from what I'm seeing it looks worth a watch. Hail, Caesar too.

Ah, you're always forgiven sir *raises glass*. And glad to hear FM enjoyed it too. Now, because it can't all be heavy dramas -

Zoolander - still a hoot. Had utterly forgotten about David Duchovny being in it riffing on his Mulder persona, so it was a weird coincidence rewatching this in the week the X-Files returned to TV. Had also forgotten about Trump's cameo; back then he seemed slightly more benign and the hair seemed more, erm ... human. And obviously David Bowie's cameo was poignant.

Zoolander 2 - granted, it's not as funny as the first ... but it's also far from the car-crash some reviews have pegged it as. Still a fair few chuckles to be had; any movie where Justin Bieber gets machine-gunned to death within the first 5 minutes is OK by me.

Tomorrowland

Routine, laboured and generally uninteresting.

Ex Machina

Well made and worth a look but ultimately not as engaging or as smart as you hoped and probably not a film to see again.

Deadpool - our very own Ambler once said that he found it troubling that Marvel productions had no problem with depicting fairly intense violence but shied away from doing the same with sex and strong language. Well, all 3 get a fair shake in Deadpool and it's tremendous fun because of it ... been a while since I heard a near-full cinema laughing so often.

Black Mass

A decent but unevenly paced gangster film. Johnny Depp was well-casted as Bulger as well as Joel Edgerton as Agent Connolly. It's a somber and atmospheric film which fits the title but overall it's kind of let down by the feeling that it's missing gaps of story that would have made it more cohesive. Also the film relies too much on montages and voice-over to tell it's story rather than just letting the characters act out things that would have put the film over the top. Given that there's quite a few scenes from the trailers missing or cut down I wouldn't rule out that the film was butchered a bit to hit the two hour mark to maximize the amount of screenings they could get out of it. Ultimately it's not a bad film but the final product needed a bit more meat to match the casting.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

*shrugs* I love it.

Pride And Prejudice and Zombies - as someone who admittedly feels zero reverence towards the Jane Austen original, I quite enjoyed this. Hordes of the ravenous undead and a fine comic turn from Matt Smith liven up dull period drama considerably, IMHO.

Flight of the Phoenix

nice cast with Jimmy Stewart, Richard Attenborough et al jostling for survival out in the desert. It's said that the remake was no different to this, both were rather insipid films but for whatever reason I don't quite mind Phoenix. I like Stewart, I like Attenborough not to mention Borgnine, Finchy, Kruger and Kennedy so maybe that's a factor. Or maybe it's the fact you feel the heat, the thirst, the weariness of men being worn down by it all.

Robocop

the beauty of films on TV means if I don't schill out for a cinema ticket I can record and watch free. And so it's the case for the 2014 Robocop. I fear I couldn't get into it. It just sort of went along in a flurry of speedy action scenes, jerky camera work and what may have been a movie soundtrack. What I liked was the original blue colour on the suit but that was short-lived. Gary Oldman seemed kind of lost trundling out the tried and tested Commissioner Gordon accent and yet for it all -as Telly Savalas once yelled in Kelly's Heroes '"There's no action!"

And this coming from someone who's watched a shedload of Batman '66 lately.

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

A marvelous turn by Charles Laughton and a solid supporting cast really elevates this movie to a total joy. The plot is perhaps a little rushed at the end but it nevertheless manages to engage and intrigue right to the last minutes which given its stage bound roots is no mean feat.

The Blu Ray is pristine and for the most part sharp and well contrasted, undoubtedly the best the film has looked since its initial cinema run.

Carol.

What a disappointment. Couldn't buy into the love story between Cate and Rooney because Cate's character is so unlikeable and the way their relationship began was so trivial and bordered on creepy. Mara was ok, but this was the first time I was disappointed in Blanchett's performance. It has to have been Haynes' direction because everything just felt so weighted when it didn't have to be, effectively making Carol very cold and obnoxious.

Extra points for Rooney's tits.

^So basically, wait until it's on a format that allows fast-forwarding to the lesbian sex scenes?

Yeah, or just visit pornhub. It's free and more charm in the performances

Scarface (1983)

It had been a while since I booted this one up. While Al Pacino's literally spitting his accent at times makes for unintentional comedy DePalma's masterful direction coupled with Oliver Stone's script make for a wild ride through '80's Miami. I honestly forgot how fun this film was and want to watch it again soon maybe in a triple billing with Predator and Road House for an all-out '80's quote festival.

"Come on pelican. Fly pelican!"

Well the blu ray for SPECTRE arrived and so when it came for my weekly film treats....

The Big Sleep

My favourite Bogie holds firm, great characters, great dialogue terrific atmosphere what more could you want except maybe more....

This was the Blu-Ray and the transfer is less spectacular, there are some great moment of contrast and clarity (you actually recognize people driving the cars etc) but more than the usual brace of scenes that look slightly out of focus....somehow, somewhere I hope there is a better master to be found one day.

Key Largo

Another awesome experience with an electric cast all at the top of their game with Houston milking every moment for all it's worth.

The blu-ray here is pristine and consistent throughout, just the right balance between film grain and sharpness - definitely a significant upgrade from my dvd copy.

SPECTRE will have to wait for next week.