A.R.S.E.

thornz wrote:Netflix movies
Please dont waste your time

fixed that for you

Some Netflix stuff is OK, although as I type this I'm struggling to bring examples to mind

We watched a strange Woody Harrelson film called Lost in London last night.

It starts with a behind-the-scenes introduction, explaining how this was a film that streamed live online, done in one shot and one take. It doesn't mention any of this in the blurb and, to be honest, I nearly switched it off because it sounded like it'd be terrible.

We skipped over the intro because I don't want to see how a film was made before I see it, and gave it a go. It's very technically impressive, with a single camera following Harrelson around for the entire running time, visiting loads of different locations, jumping in and out of vehicles and stuff. Getting it all organised and pulling it off was a hell of an achievement. That I'd never heard of it made me feel a bit sorry for all the work that must have gone into it.

It just about hangs together as a story too. The pacing is a bit odd and there are a few moments where it looks like somebody's forgotten something which is uncomfortable, but it's surprisingly infrequent.

I would say it's worth a watch for the novelty of it. Owen Wilson pops up, there's a lady with fantastic cleavage and there are some amusing and unexpected bits in it that carry it through.

It's weird that none of this is mentioned in the blurb I read, which also lies that it stars Daniel Radcliffe, when he doesn't.

It isnt on Netflix Au as far as I can tell. Will look elsewhere

Oh yeah, sorry. It wasn't on Netflix, it was on NowTV (err... so that would be Foxtel I think?)

durbster wrote:Some Netflix stuff is OK, although as I type this I'm struggling to bring examples to mind

I mean they are OK... but not great not even good. they are just throwing money at scripts that are okayish and the big companies have passed on, and big name actors to grab you into watching it.

the TV shows are most excellent, The OA, Stranger things, Sex Education, Ozark... few others I cant think of.

Let's face it, really good films aren't very common from any source.

Toy Story 4
Took the boy to see this last night and was so relieved that it's good enough to be worthy of the name. I just hope they stop now so they don't ruin it, but you never know.

The opening sequence is absolutely mind-blowing on a technical level to the point where they seemed to be showing off. Water effects, lighting, physics, all absolutely perfect.

And a couple from streaming services I've seen recently:

First Man
The opening scene is great and the way they shot the (spoiler alert) moon landing at the end is magnificent. The stuff in between is a bit, er, functional. I think I could watch the third act over and over but not the rest of the film.

Slaugherhouse Rulez
A comedy horror type thing with Simon Pegg, set in a posh school. It's quite good fun.

Leprechaun Returns
I don't think I saw these back in the day. It's mostly shit although has some amusing bits.

Black KKKlansman
I couldn't quite get into this despite it being based on a fascinating true story. It all felt a bit flat; it lacked tension or drama or something.

A friend of mine had free tickets to see Toy Story 4. Yeah it was alright, agree about the water effects at the start (a bit like when they have a new 'hair' algorithm and go a bit over the top to show it!). She cried a lot so it must have been good! A few funny moments and as always with pixar, some amazing attention to detail on really small things like textures or the way the dolls eyes blink out of sequence.

I think I've seen TS2 once or maybe twice, never saw 3 but this one is a stand alone story that works fine and I agree Durbs they should probably leave it there now as they way they finished it leaves it quite nicely rounded off. But you know they're money grabbers so they'll do another....

Agree 100% on First Man. The scene I liked was the view out of the hatch door with the moon scape. Never really thought about it before but there must have been that moment when they opened the hatch and saw the moon and probably thought 'oh fuck we made it!'. All of the set pieces about flight in that were extremely well done.

Big Kev wrote:(a bit like when they have a new 'hair' algorithm and go a bit over the top to show it!).

Like Hollywood's obsession with crumbling buildings and concrete in super hero movies. 'oh cool a new plugin, let's use it in every scene'

I watched "Yesterday"

don't bother.

Fantastic premise poooooor execution. Characters I couldn't give a fuck about.

Assassination Nation
A satire of online trolls, featuring a group of teenage girls. Starts off a bit boring but once it gets into gear it becomes quite engaging and goes off the rails at times, just a step away from winking at the camera. It does have and make a point about what a nasty bunch of people we can be from behind a keyboard. I'm not sure the feminist message got through considering how many close-ups of girls arses there are though

Hot Rod
There aren't many films I watch repeatedly but this is an exception. I watched it again at the weekend and it's probably my favourite film. Absolutely love it.

Alien
This is one of those films that's been referenced, copied and parodied so many times I feel like I know it really well, even though it's probably 25 years since I saw it. It's still really good, even if some of the 1970s special effects are a bit distracting.

Once upon a time in Hollywood ..

Still not sure if I enjoyed it although the last half hour is sensational , might have a to watch that one again.

Brad Pitt was fantastic in it I know that much.

durbster wrote:Hot Rod
There aren't many films I watch repeatedly but this is an exception. I watched it again at the weekend and it's probably my favourite film. Absolutely love it.

I love this scene! Urethra baby!

Bohemian Rhapsody

Loved it. I quite like a bit of Queen so I had some interest already. The guy who played Brian May was a dead ringer. Well acted all round I thought (except for the well known overly cut scene at the pub) and the recreation of Live Aid was very well done. I hadn't realised he'd told the band he had AIDS only 2 weeks before that concert. Makes some of the lyrics a bit more poignant. I went on youtube and watched their 20 minute set from that concert and they really smashed it.

Hotel Mumbai

Holy hell. Difficult watch. It's about the 2008 terrorist attack on a hotel in Mumbai. Very tense as you might expect with several stories of amazing bravery.

Big Kev wrote:Bohemian Rhapsody

I hadn't realised he'd told the band he had AIDS only 2 weeks before that concert.

Creative licence.
I read that he wasn't diagnosed until well after but that would have not made such an impactful story.

Ah.

The guy playing John Deacon was the kid in Jurassic Park!

John Wick 3. Fits in nicely with the first two.

Big Kev wrote:Bohemian Rhapsody

Loved it. I quite like a bit of Queen so I had some interest already. The guy who played Brian May was a dead ringer. Well acted all round I thought (except for the well known overly cut scene at the pub) and the recreation of Live Aid was very well done. I hadn't realised he'd told the band he had AIDS only 2 weeks before that concert. Makes some of the lyrics a bit more poignant. I went on youtube and watched their 20 minute set from that concert and they really smashed it.

We watched this last weekend and agree it's good. I'm not really into guitar bands and although I obviously know the songs, I didn't know a huge amount about the band beyond Freddie. I can sort of see why somebody described them recently as "corporate rock". Brian May didn't seem up the type to be trashing a hotel room.

The wife wanted to go and see this at the cinema but because my late little brother was a massive Queen fan I wasn't sure how I'd get on with it. The Live Aid scenes must have been effective because I burst into tears when the credits rolled knowing he'd have loved it. Thankfully we were at home on the sofa.

I've not had that reaction watching a film since he died in 2013 so, er, I guess that's a compliment.

durbster wrote:Brian May didn't seem up the type to be trashing a hotel room.

They were all very well educated and not really a typical druggy band. Brian May has a PhD in astro physics which he started in the early 70's but didn't finish until 2007 because Queen got in the way. He wrote a saying called 39 based on his scentific interests.

The song tells the tale of a group of space explorers who embark on what is, from their perspective, a year-long voyage. Upon their return, however, they realise that a hundred years have passed, because of the time dilation effect in Einstein's special theory of relativity, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead or aged.

I'm a huge Queen fan and the thing I love about them the most is the variety of stuff they do, because every member of the band brings a different musical style. Brian May typically writes the hard rock or guitar focused stuff, Roger Taylor is more of a rock and roll guy, John Deacon is very funky and a bit pop, and Freddie was always very grand and kind of pompous. His were always complicated piano type songs that had big stylistic changes all the way through them. He wrote quite a few Bohemian Rhapsody type songs.

Interesting watch. They actually filmed a replica of the entire 20 minute live aid set.

About the only things they didn't get quite right were the distinctive way Freddie played the guitar and he could have done with some 'sweat' sprayed on him.

Margin Call (2011) - 'Follows the key people at an investment bank, over a 24-hour period, during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis'.

I really liked this little film, just completely different take on how that event is usually told.

Captain Marvel - Tediously slow pile of pants. Spent the first 45 mins having no idea what was going on. Why not explain who's who, why the baddies are there and why she has powers at the beginning!

Big Kev wrote:Captain Marvel - Tediously slow pile of pants. Spent the first 45 mins having no idea what was going on. Why not explain who's who, why the baddies are there and why she has powers at the beginning!

But MARVEL.


I watched Terminator Dark Fate last night.

bit meh. was cool seeing Sarah Connor back, but yeah, as usual with the later Terminator movies its about the action and not the story.

The Irishman .

Long but what a fantastic movie , thoroughly enjoyed it .