Last Movie You Watched.

The Hateful Eight,

Beautiful cinematography, a powerful score, a great cast all giving it their all, what could go wrong.....well hand the film to Quentin Tarrantino it seems. What begins as an interesting introduction rapidly beomces a laboured, stupid slog building to a climax that is a total let down in every sense. It's his eighth film apparently but I'm bewildered that he was ever encouraged to do a second, one of the great mysteries of Hollywood.

4/10

Caught Mission Impossible on TV the other day. I can't tell you for sure the last time I saw this film, probably sometime back in late 90's? Still enjoyable. Pretty strong cast, I like the locations and I still enjoy the overall look of the film. Little cheesy at some points, but still enjoyable. Holds up well enough.

If anything though, it made me remember the N64 Mission Impossible game. Some nostalgia there. Completely forgot it existed until I caught the film again. Really need to get myself an N64 again one day. Really wish mine didn't disappear when I moved ages ago.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

The Man Who ... is a favourite of Mark Gatiss, and he said as much on Twitter. In response, Sir Rog saw an opportunity to pitch for a part in either Sherlock or Doctor Who ... hasn't happened yet, but we live in hope.

Oh, that'd be good. I've gone off Sherlock a little of late and don't watch Dr Who as much as I did as a kid (Pertwee/Baker repeats with my parents) but having Sir Roger would do nicely. Maybe if it's Dr Who reprising his Cannonball Run role of a man who thinks he is Roger Moore who is Bond.

lachesis wrote:

The Hateful Eight,

Beautiful cinematography, a powerful score, a great cast all giving it their all, what could go wrong.....well hand the film to Quentin Tarrantino it seems. What begins as an interesting introduction rapidly beomces a laboured, stupid slog building to a climax that is a total let down in every sense. It's his eighth film apparently but I'm bewildered that he was ever encouraged to do a second, one of the great mysteries of Hollywood.

4/10

Shame you didn't enjoy it - especially at its mammoth running time. I suppose I'm one of the few people who did, so I'll head back into my minority box.

Hilly KCMG wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

The Man Who ... is a favourite of Mark Gatiss, and he said as much on Twitter. In response, Sir Rog saw an opportunity to pitch for a part in either Sherlock or Doctor Who ... hasn't happened yet, but we live in hope.

Oh, that'd be good. I've gone off Sherlock a little of late and don't watch Dr Who as much as I did as a kid (Pertwee/Baker repeats with my parents) but having Sir Roger would do nicely. Maybe if it's Dr Who reprising his Cannonball Run role of a man who thinks he is Roger Moore who is Bond.

With you on Sherlock ... Series 4 has got a lot to prove as far as I'm concerned. Only 'His Last Vow' from the third was REALLY worth its salt, and I utterly HATED the 'rug-pull' an hour into the Christmas special.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - this is guilty of self-indulgent meandering at times, but overall it's chic, fun and sexy enough to remind one of Bond/the spy genre in its 60s pomp.

That essentially sums up my thoughts on U.N.C.L.E BI. Fun but flawed.

The writing and Henry Camel were rather weak from memory.

FieldsMan wrote:

lachesis wrote:

The Hateful Eight,

Beautiful cinematography, a powerful score, a great cast all giving it their all, what could go wrong.....well hand the film to Quentin Tarrantino it seems. What begins as an interesting introduction rapidly beomces a laboured, stupid slog building to a climax that is a total let down in every sense. It's his eighth film apparently but I'm bewildered that he was ever encouraged to do a second, one of the great mysteries of Hollywood.

4/10

Shame you didn't enjoy it - especially at its mammoth running time. I suppose I'm one of the few people who did, so I'll head back into my minority box.

All said and done I think you are actually in the majority.....I am generally mystified by what seems to me gushing applause heaped upon Mr Tarantino often for projects that are almost deliberately made to echo the cheapest of B-movie schlock. He does create some terrific scenes, and coaxes some awesome talent to join him, but for me it never comes together to make a satisfying whole imo. Jacky Brown and Kill Bill aside his films are just a chore imo with none of the earnest charm that makes a genuine B-movie rise above the pack :/

One thing I did appreciate in U.N.C.L.E. was Armie Hammer's Russian accent, something that David McCallum's original Kuryakin didn't bother with on TV.

David Brent : Life On The Road - 'fly on the wall' comedy catching up with where Brent is at now, 15 years after The Office (cashing in pension plans in order to fund his increasingly desperate dreams of music stardom is the answer). As toe-curlingly funny and unexpectedly poignant as the series was.

The Shallows - this doesn't quite hit the giddy heights of Jaws, but it still packs plenty of 'surfer girl vs. Great White' tension and thrills into its brisk 85-minute runtime.

The Brothers Grimsby


Point Break (2015)

Blunt Instrument wrote:

The Shallows - this doesn't quite hit the giddy heights of Jaws, but it still packs plenty of 'surfer girl vs. Great White' tension and thrills into its brisk 85-minute runtime.  

I concur.

Mechanic: Resurrection

Fun popcorn flick...Jessica Alba hasn't aged a bit either.

Popstar : Never Stop Never Stopping - pop industry satire starring Andy Samberg and stuffed with music-biz cameos. Pretty funny, albeit no Spinal Tap.

CJB wrote:

The writing and Henry Camel were rather weak from memory.

I liked Armie Hammer in it.
In fact, I wondered why he had never been considered for the role of Jack Reacher, instead of the ludicrously miscast Tom Cruise.

Sausage Party ... it's kinda like what would happen if everyone at Pixar got really, really drunk and decided that their new film should be a satire on religion starring talking consumer products.

A hoot :) .

Captain America: Civil War

Black Panther, Spiderman and Ant Man are all highlights but otherwise this is a cluttered and disappointing follow up to Winter Soldier...too many coincidences, too many pouty faces (are they taking cues from Daniel Craig), too many pointless location changes, too much self obsession, too much weightless cgi (and selectively impotent action if you are going to deal with consequence at least be consistent about it).

Increasingly today's bigger franchises seem to be almost resentful of the very concept of heroism - ignore what you achieve just look at the mess...we'll do this till no one will ever aspire to raise a finger for anyone. Life imitating art imitating life.... f'ing emos!

Anthropoid - assholian behaviour of some of the other cinema patrons aside, a fairly gripping account of the Czech resistance's assassination of Hitler's third-in-command and the Nazis' subsequent terrible retribution against the Czech people.

Big Trouble In Little China - picked up this prime slice of 80s action-adventure daftness for £3 recently. Still a blast, 30 years on.

Hard Target 2. Scott Adkins goes from being tough ass Borka in Undisputed to punk bitch in this snooze fest.

Complete waste of time. An insult to the original. Yeah, the only Van Damne film I really liked even if I was a pre-teen when it came out.

Just came back from Our Kind Of Traitor and loved it. I was gripped from start to finish, and it only helped that the cinematography was outstanding.

Directors with the base name 'Susan' are good at directing spy thrillers.

The Magnificent Seven - amusing, decently paced and with rousing action, this remake is ... well, pretty magnificent.

And sure wasn't the 1960 version a remake itself anyway?

FieldsMan wrote:

Just came back from Our Kind Of Traitor and loved it. I was gripped from start to finish, and it only helped that the cinematography was outstanding.

Directors with the base name 'Susan' are good at directing spy thrillers.

I watched this last night, and felt likewise it is much better than its imdb score would suggest, engaging performances, interesting characters, delicious cinematography and rare levels of tension and mystery (something I find increasingly absent from modern cinema).

I was very surprised by the IMDB score also. I understand that it initially hinges on the delivery of the USB and it does risk the entire film becoming contrived, but the writing, McGregor and Skarsgard sell it so well that I was able to go along for the ride.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Sausage Party ... it's kinda like what would happen if everyone at Pixar got really, really drunk and decided that their new film should be a satire on religion starring talking consumer products.

A hoot  :) .

I let my daughter see it. She had a ball.