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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 24, 2024 12:35:26 GMT
1408
Man visits spooky hotel room, spooky things happen. It has John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, and it's pretty good! Just a solid, simple premise (from a Stephen King short story) that gets in and gets out with very little fuss.
7/10
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 24, 2024 12:44:17 GMT
Quite like 1408 but was always disappointed it wasn't scary in the slightest. Other than that it's good fun.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Jan 24, 2024 12:46:52 GMT
Don't the ghosts in that look like they're on an old TV or something (for no reason in particular)? Thought it was a pretty silly effect
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 24, 2024 12:51:28 GMT
Triangle (I forget which streaming service) Not a bad low/medium budget horror-adjacent movie. Not particularly scary, but reasonably interesting. One really cool shot. where the other lady crawls around the corner into the pile of dead...
The tension that it was trying to build was slightly undermined by Melissa George's cleavage being center stage at all times. I get that that's a horror movie trope, but it's more fitting for a fun cheesy slasher movie than something that's trying to build tension. Christopher Smith used to be on my rather short list of British film directors producing pretty decent horror / black comedy films (alongside Neil Marshall and Ben Wheatley). Severance, Black Death and Creep are also pretty decent. Haven't seen a film of his in years. Funnily enough this has just prompted me to IMDB him to see what he went on to do and I notice he directed a film based on Borley Rectory a couple of years ago called The Banishing. As I've always been obsessed with Borley I'm going to see where I can watch it. Don't think it looks amazing but as it's him and the subject matter appeals, I hope I'll get something out of it. Not in the slightest bit interesting of course but just thought I'd pointlessly share.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 24, 2024 12:52:30 GMT
Don't the ghosts in that look like they're on an old TV or something (for no reason in particular)? Thought it was a pretty silly effect The whole film has this low budget made for TV vibe that I don't think helps it. It also gets very silly.
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jono62
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Post by jono62 on Jan 24, 2024 13:06:41 GMT
1408 Man visits spooky hotel room, spooky things happen. It has John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, and it's pretty good! Just a solid, simple premise (from a Stephen King short story) that gets in and gets out with very little fuss. 7/10 I'm tired of these motherfucking ghosts in this motherfucking hotel room was my favourite line in the film.
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mrpon
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Post by mrpon on Jan 24, 2024 13:18:07 GMT
I liked the bit when John sat behind Sam and they made a clay pot.
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Post by puddleduck on Jan 24, 2024 13:40:05 GMT
Me and some friends watched Cocaine Bear thinking it would be shit. It's not! Genuinely funny.
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Post by quercusrobur on Jan 24, 2024 13:40:33 GMT
I thought it was a vase.
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Gruf
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Post by Gruf on Jan 24, 2024 13:44:28 GMT
May as well have been a clay dong
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geefe
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Post by geefe on Jan 24, 2024 15:32:04 GMT
Clay bear
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Post by smoothpete on Jan 24, 2024 16:07:59 GMT
Poor Things 10/10
An extraordinary, weird, beautiful, funny film. Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo are all amazing in it.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jan 24, 2024 23:01:21 GMT
Innocence (mubi) - 10/10
Can't stop thinking about this. Expect it is a bit of a marmite film as it's quite slow, but I was absolutely transfixed throughout. Never really seen a film like it.
The plot centres on a strange school for girls who all wear coloured ribbons in their hair to denote their age. The school resides in this giant walled garden. The kids can't leave and a new child arrives each year in a coffin whilst the senior kids leave under mysterious circumstances. It's a cyclical arrangement. During the year, the kids frolick and go to ballet classes... for reasons.
It's sort of a horror, but not really. Slightly sci-fi. But not quite. Reminded me of Suspiria, The Village if it was good, maybe a touch of Midsommar.
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Post by Nanocrystal on Jan 25, 2024 1:39:21 GMT
Did you watch this one all the way to the end, Tomo?
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Post by Bill the kidding on Jan 25, 2024 5:19:10 GMT
Sounds vaguely like Never Let Me Go.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 25, 2024 11:16:04 GMT
Triangle (I forget which streaming service) Not a bad low/medium budget horror-adjacent movie. Not particularly scary, but reasonably interesting. One really cool shot. where the other lady crawls around the corner into the pile of dead...
The tension that it was trying to build was slightly undermined by Melissa George's cleavage being center stage at all times. I get that that's a horror movie trope, but it's more fitting for a fun cheesy slasher movie than something that's trying to build tension. Christopher Smith used to be on my rather short list of British film directors producing pretty decent horror / black comedy films (alongside Neil Marshall and Ben Wheatley). Severance, Black Death and Creep are also pretty decent. Haven't seen a film of his in years. Funnily enough this has just prompted me to IMDB him to see what he went on to do and I notice he directed a film based on Borley Rectory a couple of years ago called The Banishing. As I've always been obsessed with Borley I'm going to see where I can watch it. Don't think it looks amazing but as it's him and the subject matter appeals, I hope I'll get something out of it. Not in the slightest bit interesting of course but just thought I'd pointlessly share. So I watched The Banishing last night.
It wasn't too bad. It could have been a lot better but I really like the more "Triangle" elements he introduced here like bizarre timeslips and doppelgangers. It played fast and loose with the Borley stuff which is why presumably so much was altered slightly (Borley Hall as opposed to Borley Rectory, Linus Foster as opposed to Lionel Foyster, Harry Reed as opposed to Harry Price etc etc etc) but, yeah, I enjoyed it nontheless. There was a couple of very cool scenes and I like how Smith strayed enough from the horror tropes of constant "boo" jump scares (apart from one, I think) to deliver something a bit more low key and unsettling in places.
That said, there were a lot of elements here that remained underbaked and I think this is a film that could have actually benefitted from being even slower and with a bit more runtime. Mariannes past, her relationship with her daughter, the emotional distance between her and her husband, the suffocating influence of the church, Harry's involvement (a fascinating man in real life, although his character was altered so much this part is moot in relation to this particular film) and much more.
Having read a very detailed history of Borley recently, with a lot of focus on the Foyster's tenure in particular (to my mind, the most fascinating era in the history of the rectory), there's so much there that could be mined.
One day there will be a film or series that does this most notorious of hauntings justice. This derivative reimagining of events isn't it, but I enjoyed it regardless and will probably rewatch at some point. There were some good performances in there as well, and some good use of sound to accompany the more eerie moments.
7.5 / 10
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Post by Reviewer on Jan 25, 2024 12:11:38 GMT
Indy and the Dial of Destiny 7/10
The idea of the treasure he’s after isn’t bad. All the action scenes are too long and too much talking, there’s probably at least one location too many and it all feels sluggish. Having action based around what they can try and blag an old man being sort of capable of probably doesn’t help.
The de-aging stuff is pretty decent.
Free Fire 7/10 Single location deal goes wrong then about 70 minutes of a slow shoot out. Somehow despite being in one location it’s never 100% clear where anyone is in relation to anyone else. Entertaining but went on for too long.
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Post by bichii2 on Jan 25, 2024 17:00:05 GMT
The holdovers.
Excellent movie and worthy of it's recent oscar nominations.
8/10
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 26, 2024 9:17:46 GMT
Drunken Tai Chi
A 1984 martial arts comedy, that I'm pretty sure has not much to do with either drunkenness or tai chi, let alone a combination of the two. It is notable for being the first acting role of Donnie Yen, and also for being directed by Yuen Wo-ping.
It's very dated in some ways. The comedy is extra bawdy, and there's some jokes made at the expense of a heavyset woman that you probably could not make today. But the fighting is absolutely top notch, all the major players are really talented.
So I'd probably still recommend it, for Donnie heads especially.
7.5/10
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Post by Bill the kidding on Jan 26, 2024 9:59:01 GMT
White house down.
I'm sick on the sofa so i wanted something easy and mindless. It's ok. It's very much a die hard clone, to the point of even having the good guys helicopter shoot at the hero on the roof by mistake.
I'm trying to remember Olympus has fallen, but all i remember is Gerard butler spending a lot of time in small dark spaces.
This takes ages to get going, and for some reason every indoor scene is *really* dark, making it hard to tell what's going on. Which is mainly sparks flying as the hero ducks behind things while being shot at. It never really manages a great or original action scene.
That said, Channing Tatum does a good Mcclane impression and Jamie Foxx does a good job adding some humour and charm to a somewhat underwritten role. James Woods does the thing he's good at. I liked the tour guide too.
Though it all gets very ridiculous by the end and I'm not sure the bad guys reasons made any sense.
Good acting in a generic movie.
6/10
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 26, 2024 11:17:18 GMT
Mandy
First time watching this in a few years.
Wow it's good. Just a weird, weird dream of a movie. Great visuals, great soundtrack (RIP Johan Johansson), great performances.
I guess people might say it's a touch too long. But to me those extended slow shots only add to the almost hypnotic charm of the thing.
9/10
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rawshark
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Post by rawshark on Jan 27, 2024 21:23:05 GMT
Super Mario Bros - Sky
So the hardest part of converting Mario to the big screen was always going to be the story, seeing as Mario games never really got any more complex than “bounce on things to save the princess / mushroom kingdom”. And fair play to the makers… they didn’t even try. They just crowbarred as much as they could from the games into 90 minutes.
But you know what? It’s colourful and fun for the kids, there’s plenty of Nintendo references for the grown ups… it does just enough to be called “fine”.
6/10
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Post by Jambowayoh on Jan 27, 2024 21:31:04 GMT
I kinda enjoyed it when I saw it but I couldn't get over how paper thin that plot was. Things just happened and, oh look it's the end of the film time for a song or some shit.
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rawshark
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Post by rawshark on Jan 27, 2024 22:12:25 GMT
I think it falls into that Roger Ebert section of films where you can say it wasn’t a good film, but it did achieve everything it set out to achieve.
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Post by bichii2 on Jan 27, 2024 22:19:13 GMT
Texas chainsaw massacre 1974 50th anniversary at the cinema. I've never seen it before. It's 50 years old. It's about 80minutes long. It felt longer than the return of the king extended cut. First 15 minutes were good. Parts of the last 20 were good. The other bits were awful. Ummm not sure maybe 3/10.
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Gruf
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Post by Gruf on Jan 27, 2024 23:24:30 GMT
Wonka 9/10 Just what I needed to cheer me up.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jan 27, 2024 23:29:31 GMT
Talk To Me – Netflix – 7/10
Not bad, but not amazing either. The idea is better than the execution. Some of the acting is ropey and the actors all look about 10 years older than their characters. The script is godawful, with a lot of weird, sudden location switches which are jarring. But, the general plot and creepy seance hand are cool.
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Post by dfunked on Jan 28, 2024 8:16:01 GMT
Blue Ruin - 7/10
I thought I'd seen this before, but only remembered the rough sleeping bit at the beginning... Must've been half cut at the time. A solid enough revenge yarn that spins out of control.
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Post by Dougs on Jan 28, 2024 8:20:49 GMT
Good film that.
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Post by Reviewer on Jan 28, 2024 9:56:58 GMT
Patriot Games 7/10 It’s not bad but the plot is extremely simple which doesn’t entirely fit the tone. The Irish might as well all be walking around in green as well given how much of a stereotype they all are. Sean Bean does a slightly better job of his accent than normal.
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