films we just saw

[soulmining]

I've seen five films in the last week, not had the new Orange ad at any of them...

Bobby - interesting watch, with a poignant ending. But more of an acting masterclass and trying to spot all the famous faces. Freddy Rodriguez is good, looking forward to seeing what he does in Grindhouse...

Notes On A Scandal - if you've seen the trailer then you know what to expect, there's no real surprises... but the acting from Dame Judi and Cate is top notch.

Them - really enjoyed seeing this again (no subtitle problems either), the opening scene had me on edge even though I knew what was going to happen. Good to see again with fresh eyes rather than lost amidst the FF weekend.

The Fountain - totally agree with streetrw's comments on this one. Visually stunning film, and Aronofsky is a great director making bold pictures... but for me it was just pretentious and uninvolving... but then I don't really rate Hugh Jackman or Rachel Weisz so that doesn't help. Ellen Burstyn was good though.

Arthur & The Invisibles - well, it was Luc Besson, so I thought I should see it. Very much a kids film, but it's okay... the animation stuff works best as long as you try to forget that it's Madonna voicing the Princess. The evil Minimoys look like the aliens from The Fifth Element! And there's a great battle on a record turntable.

[lupogirl]

[quote="soulmining"]I've seen five films in the last week, not had the new Orange ad at any of them...

Notes On A Scandal - if you've seen the trailer then you know what to expect, there's no real surprises... but the acting from Dame Judi and Cate is top notch.

Horrah back to the Cineworld and with the Orange lads advert!!

Agree with Soulmining there with above comment. I thought there will be more bunny boiler action from Dame Judi. Alas,no. 2 stars

[Team Banzai]

watched over the weekend..

another festival submission (lips sealed but not great)

the hellboy animated movie - very good, great score and orig voice cast

just watched the 1st of new series of charlie brooker's show on bbc3 - worth the price of admission for a brilliant review of the whole celeb bb debacle - priceless tv and worth seeking out the few more repeats this week!

[streetrw]

Well, first there was the thrill of an All-New (not the b^%$y Swayze one again) Orange Film People Advert - maybe a lot of people complained about the Svetlana Dirge one.

BLOOD DIAMOND was, as I've intimated before, of particular interest to me as it's Africa set and that's something that rings bells with me as I spent a few childhood years there. It's more than okay as a movie - it looks great and not like Apocalypto's Sony Handycam approach - and Leo DiCaprio seems to be getting better and more believable as a leading man rather than a juvenile lead (though I reckoned the accent came and went a bit), but I think Djimon Hounsou takes the acting honours.

More importantly, while it is an entertainment primarily, it also raises some issues and, like Hotel Rwanda and Shooting Dogs and even The Last King Of Scotland, the main responses are anger, and despair at the futility of so much mindless, meaningless slaughter. Thousands upon thousands die bloody and pointless deaths and we in the "civilised" world sold the rocket launchers and machine guns used. Musing on the horrors of it all on the way home I really can't see what we in the happy, comfortable West can do about it, or would be prepared to do about it, or what it would take for enough of us to really care.... As Jennifer Connelly's journo character says, "You might see about 90 seconds of this between the sports and the weather." I suspect many of us only ever heard about conflict diamonds as a plot point/McGuffin in the useless Bond movie Die Another Day and never really gave it a second thought afterwards (because it had cool stuff like an invisible car and Madonna honking like a buffalo that swallowed an accordian). But I'm digressing. Blood Diamond is worth a look. Tomorrow I might check out Pan's Labyrinth again.

Meanwhile - if this FF submission thing you watched isn't great, should we still expect it in the line up? And what particular birthday is it? All mine tend to be miserable affairs, even the "milestone" ones (which usually get celebrated by watching whatever piece of lamebrained tripe happens to be to hand. My 40th was marked with the worst Sherlock Holmes film ever made and one for which everyone involved should not just be ashamed but soundly thrashed.).

[Team Banzai]

no not in line up..

feeling old feeling old (er)

[soulmining]

Watched Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe as well... the CBB feature was hilarious and I also liked his attack on Colin Fry and the nice little dig at Justin Lee Collins... although I have to say I did watch JLC's programme about celebrity-doubles (The Convention Crasher) without switching off - that's a first!

Just borrowed the first 12 episodes of Heroes (starting 19th Feb on Sci Fi Channel) so gonna start on those now...

Blood Diamond tonight... was going to see Dreamgirls as well, but I really don't think I can stomach it. Is it worth seeing... anyone?

[AndyJWS]

How's this for a selling point:

"Dreamgirls - so awards friendly, there's even a best director Oscar nod for the man who helmed Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh"

:P

(yeah, I know he was Oscar-nominated for Chicago and Gods and Monsters too, but they were for writing :P)

[Payne]

Just borrowed the first 12 episodes of Heroes (starting 19th Feb on Sci Fi Channel) so gonna start on those now...

You will find extremely slow going, not quite as bad as lost but it's a series that takes perseverance, I've been downloading it since day one and think it's amazing but I know people who just can't get into it

[lupogirl]

I agree it is a bit slow going but keep with it. Anyone who like things quirky should watch Hero. Watched quite a few episodes. Some rather good characters. Which leaves you wanting more at the end of the episode. A bit like Lost. (Which is FAB)

[streetrw]

Sometimes it's tough being a genre fan with an oft-stated policy of never walking out of a movie (or switching it off).

Just watched the tape of Sunday night's BBC2 screening of The Beast In The Cellar, a supremely tatty Tigon picture from 1970 and starring - wow! - Beryl "Carry On Emmannuelle" Reid and Dame Flora Robson. The casting was presumably supposed to mirror the Crawford-Davis pairing in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane while mixing it with standard monster-on-the-loose slasher stuff. This is a movie in dire need of editing, not just the tedium of the finished movie but at the script stage, to pare down the acres of blithering twaddle the two biddies have to wade through. If the entire production didn't get change from a fiver then they were robbed. Hopeless.

[trixybella]

Having discovered the naughty and guilty pleasures that is downloading things I can't get my hands on due to single region dvd's and student-dom, I LOVED HEROES!!!!

Well worth a watch, and those I know well, know I couldn't stand Lost, this however, was fantastic!

Also saw The Marine last night, again, WWE films, so no surprise I'd have hunted it down, highly worth it purely for the bad acting, still, I'm not surprised, it is John Cena anyway! The one that should be really hilarious is journada del muerto, thats got 7! (Count 'em) wrestlers in!

I digress... WATCH HEROES!
Also, much to my delight, a little known American tv gem called Oz has not come onto dvd, I payed the princely sum of £17.99 from that great internet god play.com, and it's fantastic! I loved it at 3am on channel 4, its even better now! I recommend it highly!

Finally, Paul mentioned a movie called Unknown a while back for Saw fans, I've got my mitts on it and its next.... review to follow.....

Off to set up my teddy bears picnic....!!!

[David Hall]

I had the misfortune of seeing 'Dreamgirls' at a preview last year. Unless your idea of heaven is a blandified, TV movie lite version of The Supremes story with all the tunes, sass, soul and funk replaced by bad white showtunes, don't bother. Despite a talented cast it's pure TV movie schmaltz..and not in a good way......

[Team Banzai]

REALLY wanna see heroes - heard nothing but good stuff.

also saw the scott walker documentary 30 century man.

i was moved to tears a few times during the docu about this extraordinary artist ( THAT voice!!)

brilliant doc with incredible footage and interviews inc bowie, albarn, goldfrapp, marr, almond, eno, bono, the list is endless

a MUST see when it finally comes out

a true, true artist in every sense of the word

[Bearded Avenger]

Having discovered the naughty and guilty pleasures that is downloading things I can't get my hands on due to single region dvd's

You can get a multi-region DVD player for £30 at ASDA. Various websites do them cheap as well. If they aren't multi-region auotmatically you can get a patch (worked for my ASDA one).

[streetrw]

I went back and saw Pan's Labyrinth for a second time tonight - not counting retro screenings like FF's Dead Day, this was the first time I've seen a movie more than once in a cinema since the first Harry Potter (and that wasn't really my choice). Because my local had gone to the trouble of booking it (on film, not digital) and I couldn't look y'all in the eye again if I'd let it pass. And I did like it at FF.

Well, I liked it better this time around, which surprised me a bit. Back at Frightfest I gave it four out of five stars (I use the Empire magazine system) and I still think it's four, but it was a just-edging-past-three first time and this evening it's a solid, comfortable four. I think the two stories - the childlike fantasy and the Spanish civil war movie - fitted together much better and the whole thing was more emotionally satisfying. I don't know why I didn't get this from the movie first time - maybe I'm just thick - but I'm glad I saw it again.