Isis

Watched First Omen last night. It was quite good in a cinematic sense, quite interesting to look at, some good performances. As for the supernatural horror aspect of it... it was good, I thought. Not amazing, but...good. We were the only people in the cinema too which was pleasant. It's interesting to put it in the context of listening to some podcasts about The Omen and The Exorcist and the revelation (LOL) that the concept of the number of the beast etc, which although known as accepted symbols of the devil to us today were NOT such obvious signs (lol) back in the 1970's. So therefore watching First Omen set in 1971 and people being like OH YEAH THE MARK OF THE BEAST INNIT? like everyone knows about that is kinda odd.

Yeah. It's good, you should read it. Personally I was pulling for Ewan McGregor in that role when I heard the film was being made. Watched See You Yesterday which is about two super smart kids in Flatbush who have made a time machine (time machines?) but when they finally get it to work they end up embroiled in a racist cop shooting and multiple timeloops ensue. Is it like Primer for disaffected teens? Not really. It's fine I guess but not life-changing.

I'm a fan of his. I read The Beach the year it came out and I've consumed all his stuff since. I thought Ex Machina was great. I also really enjoyed Devs. Men, I thought had a great concept but it felt like it was lacking something and I feel the same way about Civil War. Maybe directing isn't his strongest suit? While the trailers for other films were playing (before watching Civil War) my seat was vibrating but I noted that during the film the sound wasn't as loud. NB this was not an IMAX showing. I might watch it again if it was on TV when I was channel surfing.

We are five eps in (we are only watching on weekends as we don't have time for watching an hour long episode that needs concentration during the week!). I made the same comment about staircases - it reminded me that as a 16 year old I kept a dream diary and my recurring theme was stairs (apparently they stand for challenges). The guy playing Dickie is just not it. Personally I think Andrew Scott works fine. He's different but still definitely works for me as an older, been around the block a bit kind of creep. It's way too long overall and I am still on the fence about Dakota Fanning (in this, not in general - I think she is good generally). AH. STING??? I felt like there was something so familiar about Freddy's face?! I enjoyed that performance - very knowing and cocky. Agree, the end did not ring true with the rest of the film. I dunno, man. Alex Garland as a director might just be an 'eh' for me. I was at a swimming pool in central London yesterday morning and some absolute idiot in the changing room was describing the events at the end of the film in a VERY LOUD VOICE (fucking triathletes). Are you unable to speak about a film you've seen without telling the person what happens??? It's only been out for five days ffs. Not in the UK. I started watching it on Prime a few years back and when I had seen two eps they pulled it.

I found it a bit, obvious?

Aww. I wanted to watch this (have never seen it) but it got vetoed. I'll have to watch on my own. But Ripley omg episode 5

I agree this reasoning makes sense, when you stand back and view all the component parts. I like it better now that I've resolved that section into the whole story arc. More Ripley this evening and then Civil War on Sunday night.

Monkey Man: unremittingly violent and bleak. I'm sure it will be popular based on that alone. I've read a critique of the politics which said that the film is niave, basically. I've read versions of the Ramayana so those bits are familiar, plus the film tells you the outline of that stuff anyway. I will read some more reviews I think.

Watched the first two episodes of Ripley last night. Nearly every shot looks like a work of art. It's beautiful. The staircases! So many meaningful staircase scenes. But no wonder it has eight episodes - it's really taking its time! The guy playing Dickie is a little bit muted. But then Jude Law really shone in that role in the film, probably not easy to match up to that. I love what Andrew Scott is doing as Tom though. Both Scott and Damon are able to do 'creepy, awkward and sociopathic' so well. (I think both are great in the role btw, just slightly different versions of the same thing) Scott does this weird T-Rex arm thing with his hands when he is sitting down in the villa: I love it. And he is so good at doing that ambivalent borderline expression with this face where you aren't sure if he is happy/excited about something or about to lose his temper and smash the shit out of everything. I am looking forward to more unhinged Tom Ripley. But tonight belongs to Monkey Man.

Not yet, but I'm gonna. That's why we did a rewatch of the film recently (the film is brilliant, might be the best thing Matt Damon has done actually).

I found that scene to be a bit too on the nose especially as it comes right before his diagnosis. CHECK OUT THIS SYMBOLISM, GUYS.

The first time I watched The Exorcist I was in my late 20's and I found the film to be too slow and dull - so much so that I actually got bored and turned it off about 10 minutes from the end. I think I was expecting something completely different and at the time that I watched it I was just unable to appreciate it for what it was.

Spot on. We watched this documentary called Murder in a Teacup on Prime at the weekend. It's about a man who is obsessed with poisoning people. All those classic questions about whether being a psychopath makes you a serial killer (or vice versa), with a whiff of terrorism thrown in. Obviously I don't want to spoil anything - the title kind of gives it away - but I would recommend it if you enjoy the debate about the Mindhunter/pathology/understanding serial killers type of thing. One questionable choice is that they have bits from the diary of the murderer read out in this completely OTT salacious 'Tom Riddle going to the forbidded part of the library' kind of voice. But even with that it's absolutely fascinating stuff.

Went to see this last night: now that I have a cheap monthly pass to my local cinema I am able to see stuff that I would not bother to pay full price for AND I get to sit in a fancy seat. Seeing more films on a big screen is great actually. ANYWAY That guy from Stranger Things was the weak link here. In a big cast he stood out like a sore thumb as someone who was distracting to watch from a performance perspective. Everyone else did a good job with what they were given. Phoebe clearly channeling Beetlejuice Winona, which is fine, if derivative. Overall, low hanging fruit (with the OG Ghostbusters) slathered in cheese. The family stuff was (in the words of Tim Messenger) too cutesy pie. was it just me, it did it feel kind of rushed in the end? It was ok as a nostalgia trip, but if it didn't have all those callbacks, would it be any good?

The more people get excited about the light evenings and light mornings the more antisocial I get. It starts getting light in the middle of the night now. Brilliant. How the heck are you meant to be asleep when it's light outside at 4am. I hate it. Even through blackout blinds and sleep masks I KNOW IT'S LIGHT.

The two which spring to mind because I'm almost certain I'll never watch them again have already been mentioned (Requiem for a Dream and Jacob's Ladder). I always find it sad when people say Watership Down - please try rewatching it as an adult. It took me 20+ years to try it again but I'm glad I did. The book is amazing obviously.

Not really a surprise that nobody has mentioned Sam Tarly yet (despite multiple GOT mentions). I guess because the actor is bland and forgettable in this. There are a few ok to good performances here but what a shame the Oxford five (lol) hit so many bum notes. I read the first book and I enjoyed it but it felt a bit ?cold. I didn't really feel any strong connection to it. It was interesting but I didn't feel any desire to read further books. However, I binged the show in two days. As the final credits rolled, we pondered whether it would get axed before it reaches its second season.

BLASPHEMY. Do you prefer Shaun of the Dead? I always find it a bit odd when people prefer that to Hot Fuzz, as I think the latter is far superior. I watched the original Sexy Beast (film) for the first time last night. Really gave me some flashbacks to people I knew in the late 90's who were either very peripherally involved with organised crime or thought they/acted like they were. Ben Kinglsey is great, obviously. Ray Winstone looked so young. We had a bet about how old he was and I got closest. He was 43 when this was made. Kinglsey was 57. Both of them were in their prime though. I guess now I can watch the series.

Wanted to watch The Holdovers but it had stopped playing so we saw Zone of Interest instead. Tell you what, that dog should get an oscar for giving the audience something that was not horrific to look at it/think about. Not the bleakest film I've ever seen but it is certainly up there.

I went to the Royal Albert Hall yesterday for a viewing of ROTK (TE) with a live orchestra and choir. It was actually much better than I expected it to be. All the choral parts especially, I found to be ridiculously emotional. When you are watching the film on TV or in the cinema the music is usually in the background to some degree in most scenes. But in this scenario it is prioritised even over the dialogue (the film was subtitled). The music in the scene where Arwen is 'leaving' (I despise this entire plotline) and turns back after having a vision of her son and the scene where Arwen comes to Aragorn's coronation was voiced by an amazing soloist. Ditto the scene where Frodo takes the Ring and Gollum is fighting with him. Wowsers. Worth the entry fee alone. The lighting of the beacons and the ride of the Rohirrim also great, obviously. I went to the RAH to see Howard Shore conduct the score (selected bits) with the London Philarmonic in 2004 and that was pretty impressive (also quite seriously nerdy). But this viewing of the film yesterday was great fun, in part, due to the evident excitement in the audience. Some genuine good vibes right when I needed them.

Come on, can all Oscar-worthy films be so dull? Or are you just being dramatic. It's pretty funny actually, and generally entertaining throughout. Worth a watch, especially if you have low expectations. I'm listening to a lot of film podcasts and also watching some docs about the making of films, like The Movies That Made Us. The whole 'process of Jurassic Park making physical animators extinct' thing is epic. Those game-changing moments in film are so interesting to go back and explore. It's just fascinating to me to learn the stories of how these huge classics were made. LIke Forest Gump - how they did all the 'historic shots' of Forest meeting famous people (the painstaking old-fashioned way). Things like how the scripts were developed, who was originally cast - all that stuff is so weirdly fascinating to me. I saw someone on Bluesky commenting that we need to make new stuff because trying to recapture old stuff doesn't work when the old stuff was someone else's niche interests... oh wait I'll just cut+paste: Star Wars reflects George Lucas's passion for hot rods, sci-fi pulp serials, samurai movies and WWII dogfights. Ghostbusters reflects Dan Aykroyd's passion for New Age paranormalism, New York architecture and HP Lovecraft. These sequels, mostly, reflect fandom's passion for fandom Also: Ghostbusters and Gremlins were both released on the same day? CRIKEY.

We started watching The Movies That Made Us on Netflix and I almost wasn't going to bother watching the one about Die Hard (because even though the movie is fine I'm not as obsessivley into it as so many people seem to be). Interesting though. I was not aware of the stuff about taking Bruce Willis off the film posters because people thought he was a joke. Not sure I fully agree that Die Hard invented action films though. Sure, for things like Speed (normal dude becomes a hero) I can see it. But all action films? Also finished up Freud. I just feel like this was too long at eight episodes. There seemed to be too much retreading of similar grounds. It had an interesting premise (hynosis!) and Freud himself was a well drawn character but it did drag towards the end even though there was still plenty of action happening.

Excuse me, but has someone made a series version of the Guy Ritchie film, The Gentleman? ???

I don't always have complete recall of every film/TV episode I watch or book I read even if I really enjoy it at the time. Whilst my concentration is not what it used to be, I do try really hard to give my full attention to a film or show if I am watching it intentionally (i.e. not look at my phone or talk over it). I dunno, I have a full time job (which depending on staffing and workload leaves me mentally wiped out more often that not) plus two other part time jobs and most of my 'free time' goes towards a professional qualification I'm working on. So when I do take time to watch a film or whatever, I want to immerse myself in it. My lack of recall is probably something to do with lack of processing time, so stuff doesn't get filed into my memory long term. I'm too busy trying to memorise antibiotics! Went to see Dune part two last night. It's a nonstop/in your face/look away and you'll miss something film. I was desperate for a toilet break for the last hour but I opted to be uncomfortable instead as I knew I'd miss something important if I went out. I really feel like I need to see it again to decide how I feel about the way it all balances out. Maybe 8/10 on first viewing? Javier Bardem was my favourite thing about it. Felt like he was the most 'nailed it' of the characters.

Same. When we got home (we live two minutes walk from the cinema) my first response to 'so what did you think?' was: I need to see it again. It was a relentless onslaught of story and action with no real quiet moments for you to process any of it. Bardem is PERFECT and I thought all the Alia bits were done well. As other's have said, I missed mentats, spice, the guild, a bit more of an active emperor role, and the other houses. It's a super busy film so a lot of stuff got pushed to the edges. The worms, the battle scenes and the fundamentlist story line overall (especially Chani's role) were all good. So how many films are planned? One more? Two more? Even the OST for the second film is more coherent than the first one.