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Post by jimnastics on Jun 18, 2024 17:56:44 GMT
I think Garfield doing well is another sign of there being a dearth of family films. That's a half term, shitty weather, desperation movie if ever there was one. Did IF not perform well? It was promoted like crazy. The reason we always end up going retro with the kids (this weekend it was Space Camp, which entirely passed me by but has a great cast) is because they genuinely don't make fun family films that aren't animated these days. Ghostbusters reboots are about all I can think of. Am I missing loads or something? Apart from the obvious Wonka, Paddingtons and superhero films, from recent years I can recommend:
The Lost City Jumanji (2017 & 2019)
Uncharted Free Guy Fall Guy Matilda Sonic 1 & 2 Dungeons and Dragons
Kinda depends on how old your kids are, ours would have been around 6+ and 9+ when we watched a lot of these. But all really good fun family films we all enjoyed, and they still watch them often now on long trips etc.
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Post by technoish on Jun 18, 2024 18:37:04 GMT
My 6 year old finds Paddington too scary
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Post by Dougs on Jun 18, 2024 22:24:02 GMT
@jim seen them all!
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Post by britesparc on Jun 19, 2024 8:15:39 GMT
Reluctantly dragging the thread back to its original purpose (I could talk about men's fashions and international box office all day), here are some films wot I watched recently.
Legally Blonde (2001) ****
I didn’t think I’d seen this before, but as the film unfolded I remembered every scene just before it happened, so I guess this was a re-watch? Anyway, it’s fun and sparky and silly with a great performance from Reece Witherspoon. Just a charming and quirky underdog story, even if it’s a bit heavy-handed and dated in some respects.
(Prime)
Legally Blonde 2 (2003) **
I’d definitely never seen this before, and it falls into the sequel trap of really just replaying scenes from the original. Instead of trying to prove herself as a lawyer, she’s trying to get a law passed, but faces the same prejudices and assumptions. Perhaps if we hadn’t watched them over two consecutive nights with the kids, the similarities wouldn’t have been as obvious or disappointing; but as it stands, despite charm and some humour, it’s really just the first film but not quite as good.
(Prime)
X-Men: First Class (2011) ***
My memory of this is that everyone raved about it and I thought it was just okay. My memory is correct. There’s so much terrific stuff here – well, basically all the stuff that’s just Charles and Eric, or Eric on his own, and I guess Mystique – but it’s so messy and convoluted. It bears the scars of a difficult production, truncated schedule, and competing ideas. Tying it into the Cuban Missile Crisis, making it a team-up movie, and trying to prequel-ise elements of the original film just results in a mess, and cheapens moments that should feel iconic as it rushes through so many references and origins. But! The bit where he kills the Nazis in the bar! God, that’s good.
(Disney+)
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 19, 2024 16:02:53 GMT
Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga (IMAX) This was excellent, though I think I still slightly prefer Fury Road. (End Credits was cool!) Almost every moment could be freeze-framed and would look beautiful. Some epic shots. Miller is really good at creating great action scenes that are tense and exciting, but also comprehensible and where you can follow everything that's going on. Hemsworth was great, as was everyone really. Young Furiosa too. (The voice of old Furiosa really sounded like Theron, though I assume it wasn't). But I think it suffered slightly from prequelitis. You knew where everything was going and were just kind of waiting for it to get there. I felt like it took a little while to nail the pacing as well. When exactly things were supposed to be happening was a bit confusing though. Like, is this a few weeks before Fury Road, or 10 years? Very good though.
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otto
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Post by otto on Jun 19, 2024 20:45:10 GMT
The Beekeeper (airline edit) ***(*)
What an absolute shower of shite, in the best possible way. Statham at the very peak of his shit powers. The purest cheese from beginning to end, and who doesn’t like cheese? Delivers precisely what the psychiatrist ordered.
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Post by retro74 on Jun 19, 2024 21:20:45 GMT
The Beekeeper (airline edit) ***(*) What an absolute shower of shite, in the best possible way. Statham at the very peak of his shit powers. The purest cheese from beginning to end, and who doesn’t like cheese? Delivers precisely what the psychiatrist ordered. An excellent review sir. I concur wholeheartedly
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jun 19, 2024 23:23:49 GMT
To me, the Fury Road highlights reel at the end was the most baffling thing about Furiosa. The movie was at its best when it wasn't trying to top Fury Road (which is basically impossible), and inviting comparisons between the two felt like a mistake imo.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 20, 2024 9:36:55 GMT
I'm a sucker for movies that end with cool bits though. Even if your entire movie sucked, if you end it with something fun I'll leave the theater with a big grin on my face. Like Flippy Yoda! Anyway, Furiosa did look very *expensive*. There were a few weaker cgi bits, though not any that really annoyed me, but there were also a lot of shots with *lots of people*. They were probably lots of cgi people, but they didn't usually look it. The bit that annoyed me as where they showed Max watching because then I spent the next 20 minutes trying to work out what was going on with the timescale. either he'd been standing there watching for years, or he was captured and tattooed just after Furiosa returned sans-arm and everything from there to her escaping with the wives took place in the space of a couple of months while he was captured
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Post by Reviewer on Jun 20, 2024 11:35:16 GMT
To me, the Fury Road highlights reel at the end was the most baffling thing about Furiosa. The movie was at its best when it wasn't trying to top Fury Road (which is basically impossible), and inviting comparisons between the two felt like a mistake imo. The colour grading seemed odd as well on that bit. Either Furiosa has a lot more contrast than Fury Road did (don't think it did) or that bit was washed out.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 20, 2024 11:56:28 GMT
Yeah, i noticed that. Which is odd because i remember Fury Road being very vibrant
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 20, 2024 11:58:04 GMT
Now i have to wait until September for Mad Max 2 to come out in cinemas over here... :-(
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Post by britesparc on Jun 20, 2024 12:36:08 GMT
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) **** I feel most of the various Fox movies I've been watching have ranged from poor to mediocre, so it's nice to get something that's genuinely great. This one feels like an event, with proper world-shaking stakes, and despite its heft and complicated plot it finds stuff for most of the cast to do - even if it's just one cool fight scene. The future X-Men kinda get short shrift, and the various hoops it has to jump through to square the timeline can be confusing or just daft, but it's a chunky, meaty, exciting film filled with great actors doing great stuff, and several genuinely great sequences. (Disney+)
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jun 21, 2024 7:09:03 GMT
Spirited Away - 9/10
Wtf did I just watch. Absolutely batshit. Amazed this is such a mainstream hit, but I'm so glad it is. Brimming with imagination through every scene. Off to see the theatre show tonight.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 21, 2024 8:26:03 GMT
Spirited Away is great. I'm jealous about the stage show.
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Post by Whizzo on Jun 21, 2024 11:17:44 GMT
Now i have to wait until September for Mad Max 2 to come out in cinemas over here... :-( Blimey, that's some delay, it came out 43 years ago.
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Post by gamingdave on Jun 21, 2024 12:16:06 GMT
Space Cowboys (2000) - 70/100 - I wanted to watch something with Donald Sutherland last night, and this had been on my watchlist for ages so gave it a go. Clint Eastwood stars, directs and produces, alongside DS, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and James Cromwell . It's essentially Armageddon, but instead of an astroid it's an old Russian satellite, and instead of oil drillers the only people who can save the day are a team of retired ex air force personnel (Clint having designed the pre-microchip navigation system) - the first 4 play those characters, Cromwell is their shifty ex-boss now working with NASA.
It's well put together but the draw is the chemistry between the cast. It's not a comedy but is (mostly) light hearted. The action isn't as intense as Armageddon, but it still has it's moments and some decent suspense. Just over 2hrs but doesn't feel long, with plenty of time given for us to get to know the characters, who all play excellently off each other.
Not a classic, but I enjoyed it from start to end and would recommend.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 21, 2024 13:02:33 GMT
Now i have to wait until September for Mad Max 2 to come out in cinemas over here... :-( Blimey, that's some delay, it came out 43 years ago. We always get things last!
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jun 21, 2024 13:51:36 GMT
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Renny Harlin directing Geena Davis and SLJ, from a script that's about as Shane Black as a script could possibly be.
It's fucking great. Maybe a touch too long, but there's explosions and gun fights and did I mention the Shane Black script. It's a duck, not a dick!
8.5/10
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2024 14:02:36 GMT
SLJ is peak SLJ in that film, it's a great film.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jun 21, 2024 14:26:40 GMT
Yeah, he really is fucking perfect. Like I couldn't even conceive of anyone else in that role.
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Post by Jambowayoh on Jun 21, 2024 14:30:40 GMT
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Renny Harlin directing Geena Davis and SLJ, from a script that's about as Shane Black as a script could possibly be. It's fucking great. Maybe a touch too long, but there's explosions and gun fights and did I mention the Shane Black script. It's a duck, not a dick! 8.5/10 I haven't seen that film in years. I think it must be over a decade at this point.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 21, 2024 15:19:13 GMT
I watched it last year and it seemed pretty dated at first (which was a shame as I'd always liked it). But after a while I was fully on board.
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Post by peacemaker on Jun 21, 2024 17:00:25 GMT
The bike riders.
Me and my daughters watched this just now because they are perverts and they are obsessed with Austin butler. Decent film and although I don’t like Tom Hardys generic accent he does in these roles I thought he was excellent.
4 out of 5.
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dmukgr
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Post by dmukgr on Jun 21, 2024 17:17:36 GMT
Spirited Away is great. I'm jealous about the stage show. Er, wasn't it on in Tokyo first? I saw it last week - was awesome. I've bought tickets for Totoro for next year too, even though I've already seen it once.
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Post by rawshark on Jun 21, 2024 19:05:59 GMT
God I’d love to see Spirited Away on stage.
My son is selfishly refusing to be old enough to allow me to take him.
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cubby
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Post by cubby on Jun 21, 2024 19:11:09 GMT
What a prick
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jun 21, 2024 23:30:30 GMT
Can confirm stage version was excellent. Really good fit for the format. The whole production was stunning.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 22, 2024 4:03:23 GMT
Spirited Away is great. I'm jealous about the stage show. Er, wasn't it on in Tokyo first? No idea. Probably.
I usually hear about these things too late.
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dmukgr
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Post by dmukgr on Jun 22, 2024 7:48:38 GMT
It’s the original cast from the Tokyo production. Maybe they will bring it back after the uk run.
I know it’s not the same but you can get the stage version on Blu-ray too. That’s on torrent sites as well.
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