Last Movie You Watched.

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Undeniably. There's something to be said about music that has lasted throughout the decades. While there are pieces I might not like, it's incomparable to modern music - songs that have a very limited shelf life that are soon forgotten.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

UDI ... ah, so the screenplay of The Foreigner invents the terrorist organisation that Brosnan's character used to be a part of, then.

Reminds me of Patriot Games ... in the book the organisation that Ryan enrages is the fictional 'ULA' (Ulster Liberation Army), whereas in the movie they just went with the IRA.    

Was constantly reminded of UDL, which is a brand of fruity alcoholic drinks we have over here. Usually one both commences and ceases drinking it in their teens.

FieldsMan wrote:

Saw Kingsman: The Golden Circle a few nights back. Populated with too many characters and arcs that don't lead anywhere (Halle Berry was wasted because of this), but I think I preferred it more than the first one (though it's not a good sign when you can pull the film apart for all its flaws immediately). Julianne Moore was a riot and Elton John was so bad he was good. And despite the long run time, it breezed by.

I have to agree with this. The first movie was silly (purposefully so) but it did have a genuine heart. The sequel is a soulless, bloated shambles.

I thought the extended Elton John cameo is a good example of something that should have never gone beyond the first draft of the screenplay.

Wonder Wheel (dir. Woody Allen)

Superbly photographed film. I love the scenes in Ginny's apartments, with the camera following the actors throughout the set and with very minimal (if any) edit points. I'd been thinking about how actors aren't given the time to play anymore, dictated by the cutaways and shot-reverse-shot, and how audiences aren't allowed to enjoy actors relish their roles. So, if I enjoyed anything out of this film, it's how the drama is captured, and the actors are given room to stretch. 

Either I adjusted to the performance style as the movie progressed, or it just got better. I'm leaning more to the latter. I enjoy being thrust into the film's story from the get go, but there was something not quite right with Winslet and Timberlake's performances. Timberlake had his moments throughout the film, but on the whole, he was inconsistent. Winslet improved markedly and her unravelling was both tragic and a joy to watch. There's a devastating decision she makes halfway into the film which I predicted early on the film, but watching her consider it was heartbreaking and helped me consider the circumstance in a different light, which was very refreshing. As I'm writing this, I feel I have to concede it's Allen's writing that let's Winslet down in the opening scenes. It doesn't seem as conversational/realistic as it should, and had it been, I feel Ginny's character would have been more compelling than what it is. To clarify, she is exceptional after those first few scenes (literally just before Winslet's character meets Juno Temple's) and I want her to take home the Oscar for Best Actress. 

And on Allen's script, there are some delicious lines and engrossing conversations as the film progresses that demonstrate he hasn't lost his touch. With a rewrite, it could have been one of his best.

Juno Temple was excellent too, as was Jim Belushi. The dynamic between this non-traditional family created some electric drama and the scenes unfolded like a stage play. Cracking stuff made all the more inviting because of the performances. 

Of course, Woody Allen has a gift of picking film appropriate music and it's no different here. 

Wonder Wheel is still in the upper echelons of Allen's filmography, but due to some inconsistency it won't dethrone the likes of Annie Hall, Manhattan, Blue Jasmine, Vicky Christina Barcelona and Midnight in Paris. 

As always, looking forward to his next film, this time 'A Rainy Day In New York'.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017, Villeneuve)
The original BLADE RUNNER  is a film that absolutely did not need a sequel, so I went into 2049 not knowing what I wanted because I didn't want anything! 2049 has received a lot of praise for it's art direction, rightly so, but anyone familiar with Scott's 1982 masterwork would not have been surprised. It's beautiful and astounding, don't get me wrong, but not groundbreaking anymore and it took me a while to adjust to that. Once I did, I noticed my fears over the score were quickly reassured as were my fears over general plot. The story is brilliantly handled and cleverly leaves the final mystery of the first film untouched and unexplained, whilst also adding more to the original film's mythos. I will need to see this again, and will look to purchase the Blu-Ray, but this is probably my film of the year.

SHUTTER ISLAND (2010, Scorsese)
Ugly and underwhelming.  If it wasn't for 2016's SILENCE, I would have said that Scorsese has drastically lost his way. Here's hoping THE IRISHMAN will be his return to form.

WINTER LIGHT (1963, Bergman)
Utterly devastating. Unbearably moving. My favourite Bergman.

THREE COLOURS: WHITE (1994, Kieslowski)
At first glance, WHITE is jarringly understated after the poetic and profound BLUE, but Zamachowski's magnificent performance is one to keep coming back to.

THE YAKUZA (1974, Pollack)
DIRTY HARRY, KLUTE, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, MAGNUM FORCE, THE CONVERSATION. There's just something about 1970's thrillers that hasn't and perhaps cannot be replicated today (Ben Wheatley tried and failed with FREE FIRE). Maybe it's as simple as time and place. Pollack is an overlooked director; this is an exciting, violent but soulful affair.

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Die Hard - with Virgin Media OD being a faulty little shit the other night, I saw it as an ideal opportunity for a BI Towers Xmas tradition (the second Die Hard and OHMSS are also).

It's A Wonderful Life, Elf, Miracle On 34th Street etc for other people at this time of year ... action-thrillers for me. Hehehe.

Still haven't seen the first Bad Santa. Watched Love Actually a few nights back and was reminded of it through Billy Bob Thornton's cameo. 

Want to get around to Die Hard 1/2 again soon too. My Christmas tradition is OHMSS/Love Actually/It's a Wonderful Life - all watched for this year.

On the subject of "Bad Santa" and Weinstein:

https://twitter.com/realzwigoff/status/941864029051428866

I guess she was likely up for the Lauren Graham role?

Star Wars : The Last Jedi - well, I see online opinion is decidedly mixed and I did find it a little on the overlong side.

However I also found it thrilling, spectacular, amusing and unexpectedly moving.

Salomé wrote:

On the subject of "Bad Santa" and Weinstein:

https://twitter.com/realzwigoff/status/941864029051428866

I guess she was likely up for the Lauren Graham role?

Crazy. I hope they have some kind of revival in their careers.

FieldsMan wrote:

Salomé wrote:

On the subject of "Bad Santa" and Weinstein:

https://twitter.com/realzwigoff/status/941864029051428866

I guess she was likely up for the Lauren Graham role?

Crazy. I hope they have some kind of revival in their careers.

Mira Sorvino is 50 years old. The success rate for actresses making a comeback at that age is not great.

Though I have seen some creatives on social media make vague promises of casting her and/or Ashley Judd in their films.

m

SPOILERS AHEAD

Star Wars - The Last Straw

Long, dreary, and pointless.

Each new fart out of the Disney anus only solidifies the fact that Star Wars, regardless of whether you think it's Citizen Kane in space or otherwise, will always be the original three movies. 40 years from now, no one will remember Poo Demon or the chubby token Asian girl or the riveting storyline about the fuel shortage.

The dumb gags and Dad Jokes - which the more negative reviews inform me is a byproduct of those cookie cutter Marvel comic movies they're releasing weekly - are forced, distracting, inorganic and simply can't mask the fact that this was a lazy film devoid of charm. "Page turners, they are not," says Ghost Yoda who's a bit of an annoying cunt now. Speaking of annoying cunts, there's Luke Skywalker. Naturally, as with Han Solo, they couldn't resist killing him off because fuck the original trilogy, it was all for nuthin' anyway.

The emo kid is now the main villain because the hyped-up Supreme Allied Commander Sock - rather than being the remnants of the Emperor's left testicle - was nothing but a big ugly fucker who dressed like Goldmember.

Star Wars might not be immediately associated with deep characters, but every main character in the original trilogy had a discernible personality. You took an interest in them and cheered them on. Budget Female Luke and Budget Latino Han elicit no such emotion. Black Jar Jar Binks is perhaps the most charming of all them, but frankly, few would be upset if he did end up kamikaze-ing the laser phallus.

In closing, Disney is Police Academy-ising Star Wars. They're milking it dry like Nu-Luke does to that dozen-breasted camel thing.

Disney was always going to milk Star Wars dry. They paid George Lucas 4 billion USD for his IPs. You can bet they will make sure that a profit is made on that huge investment.

m

Christ.

Ah well, at least I got what I thought of it in before the rest of you rounded on it .

Erica Ambler wrote:

I suppose Mira Sorvino and Marisa Tomei had disappointing careers after their Academy Awards. Not that the statues necessarily mean very much; I was amused to realise Bad Santa 2 featured three Oscar winners.

I think Tomei had a decent career. I mean, she is still working in Hollywood at 53, which isn't the case for the majority of women her age.

I assume you are aware of the nasty rumor about her Oscar win (that Jack Palance accidentally read the wrong name)?

Super Dark Times



Interesting film.

What if you took "Stranger Things", got rid of all the cutesy stuff and silly fan-service and instead infused it with huge amounts of darkness and realism? That's pretty much the movie summed up. It doesn't quite stick the landing for me, but it's 3/4 of a good movie, which is significantly better than most films manage.

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I never believed it either, but the existence of that rumor does suggest her peers didn't deem her worthy of the award.
At the very least it suggests she had her enemies at the time. Of course, it could just be a crafty smear campaign by a rival's publicist.

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Erica Ambler wrote:

Salomé wrote:

the existence of that rumor does suggest her peers didn't deem her worthy of the award.

Too long ago for me. Who were the other nominees?

Re Super Dark Times, the only film involving children that I can stand is Come and See, which I imagine has a somewhat higher count of German/EU atrocities.

Have you never see the original "Let the Right One In"?
A brilliant little horror movie and one of the most honest depictions of how casually cruel (young) children can be that I have ever seen in a film.

"Come and See" is a movie that everyone should see at least once, but it's not a movie you "enjoy" watching. At least, I would hope not.

To answer your other question:


Marisa Tomei – My Cousin Vinny as Mona Lisa Vitodouble-dagger
Judy Davis – Husbands and Wives as Sally Wainwright
Joan Plowright – Enchanted April as Mrs. Fisher
Vanessa Redgrave – Howards End as Ruth Wilcox
Miranda Richardson – Damage as Ingrid Fleming