Last film you watched and your rating: The Directors Cut

Arrival - 5/5

Wow, went in after only seeing the trailer once sometime ago. It was fantastic, the audience didn't make a sound during the showing and all were positive on the way out.

Music at the beginning and the end was very good and moving. Two leads were great and the feel of the movie was just right. Brilliant design and filmed exceptionally well. Loved the ending and the questions the movie raises. Well worth a trip to the cinema. Possibly film of the year.

London Has Fallen - 5/10

Below average actioner, not a patch on Olympus. Enjoyed all the stabby-stabby though.

Jack Reacher.

Not a bad effort, despite Tom Cruise trying to look taller as usual.

Wedgie wrote:Jack Reacher.

Not a bad effort, despite Tom Cruise trying to look taller as usual.

Well Jack Reacher is meant to be like 6ft5...

Tomous wrote:

Wedgie wrote:Jack Reacher.

Not a bad effort, despite Tom Cruise trying to look taller as usual.

Well Jack Reacher is meant to be like 6ft5...

No wonder it's a Tom Cruise production then.

It's obvious that they're using perspective tricks to make him look taller than he really is.

Pls, Tom Cruise. Accept your short stature.

Wedgie wrote:

Tomous wrote:

Wedgie wrote:Jack Reacher.

Not a bad effort, despite Tom Cruise trying to look taller as usual.

Well Jack Reacher is meant to be like 6ft5...

No wonder it's a Tom Cruise production then.

It's obvious that they're using perspective tricks to make him look taller than he really is.

Pls, Tom Cruise. Accept your short stature.

He has fair hair in the books too...

Krampus - 7/10 A good alternative Christmas movie (had a Gremlins vibe to it!). I felt the final act got really rushed though.

Arrival 10/10

Best sci-fi I've seen in years. Yes, better than Interstellar. By a wide margin. As someone with a degree in Linguistics, the concepts it tackles are absolutely fascinating to me. I was even able to snootily comment on the rather dumbed down version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis they presented (jokingly though, it still serves its purpose). The denouement was fantastic, and the film pitched so it allows you to figure out the twist just before the film reveals it, making you feel all super smart and stuff.

Contact vs Vonnegut vs Nolan vs Sagan.

Brilliant.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - ***

There's a lot of interesting, fun stuff in here but I felt it was a little too hyperactive and over-reliant on (sometimes shoddy) CGI. The first half is a succession of sequences involving finding and catching magical creatures. Many of which work (the niffler is great) but I thought there was one set piece too many, and it probably should have been cut to make the film leaner. When it pulls focus for the second half however, and the nature of the big threat is laid out, the very obvious metaphor at the core of the idea behind that threat is effective and interesting.

What the film does really well is build the world of this new series and introduce a cast of interesting and fun characters. Dan Fogler is EXCELLENT, he's the heart of the film, but Eddie Redmayne was a problem for me. The Newt character works, he's enthusiastic and has a good heart like many of the best Potter characters, but Redmayne's performance is an OTT caricature of a shy, nervous British eccentric and he mumbles a lot. At least a third of his dialogue is completely unintelligible.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Awesome! Stunning! Brilliant!

More of this please!

A Cry For Help In The Dark On Bonfire Night 2

In short - don't bother. In long - do not bother to see this film. Did we really need a sequel to this? The ending of the original was pretty conclusive - I mean, you can't get more conclusive than everyone in the world dying and a big bomb blowing up the universe.. The opening sequence was an attempt at a reset button - literally, in this case, as a guy called Hed Hunter wearing cowboy boots pressed a big red button with his nose to bring back the universe.. It worked visually, but cinematographically? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure that's a real word.

The star of the show was definitely the popcorn, who gave a memorable performance as the snack what I ate during the film.. He was ably supported by too much Pepsi in a giant cup with too much ice.

In summary, this one is strictly for fans. Even if you can get past the plot holes - the villains of the piece, using apple corers to literally poke holes in the plot (and sometimes apples) there's really not much for the casual observer here. Two stars.

Whiplash - 5/5

Well this was superb, especially JK Simmons who elevated the tension perfectly. Found the ultimate direction of the film went in a way I didn't expect and enjoyed the way they went about the ending a lot. Great film.

Godzilla wrote:Arrival - 5/5

Wow, went in after only seeing the trailer once sometime ago. It was fantastic, the audience didn't make a sound during the showing and all were positive on the way out.

Wish that had been the case for me. I was sitting two rows in front of a couple who took just about every dialogue exchange in the film as a cue to begin a conversation - not whispering, just talking at normal volume (which obviously isn't 'normal' volume in a cinema) including the end scenes, during which they decided to debate whether it was more or less confusing than Interstellar. Anyway, despite that and some distractingly bright aisle lights (which, because my local cinema is stupid, are placed on the ceiling but close enough to the screen that they cast a glare on the corners) I thought it was brilliant. Thoughtful, profoundly moving, smartly scripted, with a terrific score and a tremendous central performance*. Five stars and easily in my top three of the year.

*A quiet nod to Renner, too, who I thought would be an entirely unconvincing theoretical physicist, but his performance was nicely understated and he brought warmth and charm to a perhaps slightly underwritten role.

1>3>4>2 wrote:I really want to see Arrival but kind of struggle to get folk to go see films these days and don't want to go alone.

Just go on your own. I did. Bonus: you don't have to share your Pic 'n' Mix or your popcorn.

Train to Busan - Far and away the best zombie film I've ever seen. So tense throughout with great characters who you actually give a damn about and a fairly unpredictable story. I've not enjoyed a film this much in a while, if you're a fan of the genre it's essential.

rudderless wrote:

1>3>4>2 wrote:I really want to see Arrival but kind of struggle to get folk to go see films these days and don't want to go alone.

Just go on your own. I did. Bonus: you don't have to share your Pic 'n' Mix or your popcorn.

I went to see Doctor Strange on my own recently, is this a sign of getting old?

Arrival sounds great though, must see that sometime.

Nothing wrong with going to the cinema on your own.

I mostly go to the Cinema on my own, can't find anyone else that wants to go watch 3 or 4 films one after another during a day.

Unless you've got an unlimited card that must be an expensive day.

I do indeed have an Unlimited card...although I used to do the same thing (though not as often) when I didn't.