Jump to content

Watch Watched and Watching: Episode X

AndyBaelish

By AndyBaelish,
in Entertainment

Recommended Posts

HexMachina Council Member

HexMachina

Posted
Posted

Just saw it yesterday and I felt the same way. It was nothing special, and kinda dumb, but a lot of fun.

Yeah, it was really fun to watch but nothing amazing. I was a bit surprised that

they killed Galahad (Colin Firth)

But it was fairly standard spy fare really.

I thought the villain

being an environmentalist nut was quite a nice touch, even if his plan was insane :p Though tbh I don't think the film took itself all too seriously so I wasn't bothered

Some high points for me

felt the acting was great, fairly solid cast.

Quite liked the way the action scenes were filmed. Don't know the terminology to describe it though...almost slowed down slightly? Whatever it was, I liked it done that way.

Exploding heads and the fight between Eggsy and the blade woman with 'give it up' playing in the background and flashing between scenes of worldwide carnage

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Liffguard Council Member

Liffguard

Posted
Posted

Yeah, they definitely weren't taking themselves too seriously. Between the meta conversation about old-school bond movies and the exploding heads set to Land of Hope and Glory it's pretty clear they knew exactly how ridiculous the whole thing was and just ran with it anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HexMachina Council Member

HexMachina

Posted
Posted

Yeah, they definitely weren't taking themselves too seriously. Between the meta conversation about old-school bond movies and the exploding heads set to Land of Hope and Glory it's pretty clear they knew exactly how ridiculous the whole thing was and just ran with it anyway.

I got out of it what I wanted though, which was entertainment and fun. Didn't regret paying to see it in a cinema, which is always a bonus :) (I'm a terrible person when it comes to spending money, so I usually resent a cinema trip...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Castel Council Member

Castel

Posted
Posted

Saw American Sniper. If it had been about some fictional war completely divorced from reality it would be pedestrian. Since it's not though...it's still pedestrian, and plenty of people have written about the problems with that.


Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veltigar Council Member

Veltigar

Posted
Posted

It's been a while since I last posted on the watched thread. So it's quite the list:



Dabba (aka the Lunchbox): A romantic comedy from India (strangely enough, according to IMDB this is a romantic drama, but according to my DVD it's a romantic comedy. I concur with the DVD). This is one of the best feelgood movies I have seen quite some time. I really loved it. The movie was incredibly funny, the protagonist had a wonderful wry sense of humour and the sidecharacters (especially 'Auntie') were also loads of fun.



The films also gives some fascinating insight into Indian society. The Dabbawala delivery system was something I had never heard about before, but now I wish we had something like it over here. The acting was great across the board. I loved that, despite there not being an ounce of malice present in any of the characters, the movie didn't devolve in some sacharine, rose-colored view of India. It felt realistic. I would really recommend this movie to anyone in need of some cheering up.



Collateral: One of Michael Mann's finest films imo. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be between this film and Last of the Mohicans. Every time I rewatch this, it becomes better. Mann's uses digital video to capture the dark scenes and the aesthetic just fits LA by night. And in stark contrast with later films (I heard this is one of the problems with Blackhat) he's still smart enough to use film in scenes with lots of light.



This is probably Tom Cruise's best performance ever. Really a reminder of how great he can be if his not playing standard Tom Cruise. His finest performances in the last 10 years or so (EoT, Tropic Thunder, Collateral) are all roles where he reaches out of his comfort zone. Jaime Foxx is also very good in this movie. And probably a major achievement, Mann manages to make Jada Pinkett Smith bearable. He should get a special oscar for that alone.



L'inconnu du lac: I wish this movie had stayed unknown to me. What a waste of my money. I had heard great things about the film and usually Cannes is pretty reliable, but they missed the ball here. Don't get me wrong, some things were very good. The actors were fearless, the way the movie handled male nudity was very natural and the setting was really beautiful.



At the end of the day though, these good things didn't make up for the fact that this movie was boring as shit. I usually don't like to criticize a movie for being boring, since it's usually a pretty empty complaint, but with this movie I just can't say anything else. The characters also made some pretty wonky choices, which I don't see real people make. and some of the explicit sex scenes were perhaps a little excessive.



The Wedding Ringer: A Kevin Hart movie released in january, that must be terrible right? Well, it was actually surprisingly okay. It's definitely not a good movie, but it isn't aggressively bad. There were more than a few laughs spread throughout the film. If you don't go in expecting much, this movie is serviceable.



Tasogare Seibei: Aka The Twilight Samurai. Hiroyuki Sanada must be one of the best actors working today. Just compare his passive and hesitating Twilight Samurai with his aggressive, distrusting uberwarrior in the Last Samurai, both times he plays samurai, but there is a world of difference between the two characters.



Sanada really carries Tasogare Seibei. It's such a beautifully meandering film. The films tone I can only describe as elegiac. The director really makes you feel for the lead, eventhough some of the choices he makes seem a bit odd to our modern sensibilities. The Twilight Samurai might not be the greatest hero ever (he does have a very kickass name), but you are with him to the end.



Grease: Another movie I watched probably way to much. I don't think I can say anything new about it. It's just such a great feelgood film. Both leads are dreamy, there are so many great songs and it's all heartwarmingly funny. Despite the fact that I prefer Saturday Night Fever as a film, I think I might like Travolta's Dany Zuko more than his Tony Manero. I can definetely see why Travolta and Newton-John became teenage idols.



Gangs of Wasseypur Part One: Described to me as India's answer to the Godfather and Once Upon a Time in America. Gangs of Wasseypur is actually one movie with a runtime of a whopping 320 minutes. Luckily, the movie is divided into two parts, otherwise it might be a little overpowering. The first part was very promising.



The acting is great and I just love the feel of India we get in the movie. I really felt like I was there in the city of Wasseypur. One thing this movie suffers from is the huge amount of time that passes in the film. The whole film spans three generations and in part one about 40-50 years go by. All of it is interesting, but I would have liked to stick around a bit longer with some parts. Especially the beginning, right when India becomes independent. I wouldn't mind seeing an extended version of that part of the movie. I also think they should have taken a little more effort to age some characters. There is one character we stick with for most of the 40 years and even in his old age he looked remarkably vital still.






Watching The Lion In Winter (1968). Peter O'Toole. :love:




One of the greatest actors ever. And the role of Henry II fits him to a T. Have you by any chance seen Becket? One of my personal favourites, with Peter O'Toole as Henry II and Richard Burton as Thomas Becket. It plays a bit loose with the facts, but it's a great movie.



The Lion in Winter is also very good, but I do think Becket is just a tad better. I also just have to take this chance to gush about 1968, what a great year for movies that was. The best spaghetti western (and imo western and film) with Once Upon a Time in the West, the greatest sci-fi film with 2001: A Space Odyssey and a serious challenger with the original Planet of the Apes. The first zombie flick with Night of the Living Dead. Bullitt, Teorema, Funny Face, etc. 1968 just keeps on giving.


Link to comment
Share on other sites
RedEyedGhost Council Member

RedEyedGhost

Posted
Posted

I rewatched series 1 of Broadchurch after watching the first episode of series two and realizing that very little of the first series actually stuck.



Also watched series 1 of The Game - pretty standard spy show, but the final two episodes were excellent.



I just finished watching The Maze Runner and wow, was that ever shit. I really should stop watching these YA dystopian novels made movies, because they're all really really bad.


Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Moff Mithrandir Council Member

Grand Moff Mithrandir

Posted
Posted

Just watched the last ep of arrested development s4 and i liked it. Look forward to when season 5 is made.

Well if you're sold then I'll give it another try.

Was DVR'ng(?) Raiders of The Lost Ark so I could watch it for the very first time. Of course the electricity went off so I'm now stuck with a 53 minute recording. <_< guess it was not meant to be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Theda Baratheon Council Member

Theda Baratheon

Posted
Posted

I thought S4 was disappointing in it's mediocrity :/

Been watching some S3 parks and rec. I didn't realise there were 7 seasons, might have to invest in that at some point. Shame it's not on Amazon Prime or Netflix.

First few eps I really didn't like it and when it all started to tie together I started finding it funny, then Gob's episode happened and I decided I definitely did like it then I was finding Tobias' eps amazing and after Buster's and all the running jokes this season I did really really enjoy it. This format works well for tying up all the characters stories into one. If they go back to the old format for season 5 it would work really well. Either way, the characters are still as funny as ever.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veltigar Council Member

Veltigar

Posted
Posted

Just finished the second episode of the second season of Black Sails. It was great. For all people who saw season one and didn't bother with the second season, I would advise you to reconsider. Season one had his moments, but it was pretty average overall. Season two however has seen a truly remarkable increase in quality so far. You're missing out if you aren't watching!

@Veltigar:

Nope, I haven't seen Becket. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

I hope you like it as much as I do :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jack Bauer 24 Council Member

Jack Bauer 24

Posted
Posted

She gets much worse. :ack:

Edit: Actually, nvm! :D I was thinking of Gloria from Season 3, for some reason. Effing hated that whole storyline. Danielle is okay. :p

I'm halfway through season 4 and is it just me, or is this season more subdued then the previous seasons? I don't know, it feels more mellow or something. I'm loving it though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nictarion Council Member

Nictarion

Posted
Posted

I'm halfway through season 4 and is it just me, or is this season more subdued then the previous seasons? I don't know, it feels more mellow or something. I'm loving it though.

THe second half of season 4 has some of my absolute favorite episodes. Whoever Did This,

The Strong Silent Type, and Whitecaps.

The intervention scene in The Strong Silent Type kills me every time. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...