What's the last or current Movie you Watched ?

[Shelter]

You won't be rushing to see the recently released BABY ASSASSINS 2 then?
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A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023)

In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer. Imdb

So this is the third outing for Kenneth Branagh's moustasche. Reviews were mainly very positive with most absolutely loving it, a few found it slow, dull and uninteresting.......... I fell asleep

So at first: I don't think that BABY ASSASSINS 2 will find my interest!

And A HAUNTING IN VENICE should be one of our next movies. But now......? Hmm, I don't know.

 

[slimjim]

THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR (2023)

A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Extremely faithfully adapted from Roald Dahl’s long short story.

A 41 minute Wes Anderson short. Starring Ralph Fiennes; Benedict Cumberbatch; Ben Kingsley; Dev Patel; Richard Ayewade. I enjoyed it, but I am a self-confessed Wes Anderson fan and this has all his usual hallmarks of quirkyness; vibrant pastel colours; symmetrical composition. etc

I still have his Asteroid City to watch, Hopefully I will enjoy it more than last years "The French Dispatch" which I didn't like as much as his others. Maybe it's time to re-watch the excellent "Grand Budapest Hotel"?

 

[slimjim]

BARBIE (2023)

"To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken."

I wasn't sure I was ever going to hit the Play button on this one. I knew very little about the plot but just had the impression that this was not gonna be for me. Anyway I decided to give it a go and the opening scene (no spoiler) made me smile and so I kept watching. It is ok in places, in others it plods along a bit and I fast forwarded through most of the songs. One reason I kept going was that I wondered if any more members of the cast of Sex Education were going to turn up. I can see how it got plaudits for it's underlying commentary on misoginy/patriarchy/objectification but as a piece of movie entertainment my gut feeling was right in that it ain't my kind of thing even though it looks like a cross between a Wes Anderson and Tim Burton production.

 

[slimjim]

ABOUT MY FATHER (2023)

When Sebastian tells his old-school Italian immigrant father Salvo that he is going to propose to his all-American girlfriend, Salvo insists on crashing a weekend with her tony parents. Imdb

Robert De Niro stars in this "comedy". 10 mins in I thought of turning it off but kept going until 25 mins, bad decision - I thought it was awful.

 

[Shelter]

Bang - Woom - Crash! Binge-watching THE EXPENDABLES 1 to 4.

Simply hilarious! Sheer nonsense but very, very enjoyable. Cool sayings! And no one takes it seriously!

 

[slimjim]

Bang - Woom - Crash! Binge-watching THE EXPENDABLES 1 to 4.

Simply hilarious! Sheer nonsense but very, very enjoyable. Cool sayings! And no one takes it seriously!

I always passed on these, mainly 'cos I'm not much of a Stallone fan but okay you have convinced me to give then a try. As we have said before some nights you cannot face a deep, emotional rollercoaster of a movie with a complicated plot. What you want is simple uncomplicated silly nonsense with a lot of car chases; crashes and bangs. I have grabbed the first 2 and will take a look and then we'll see if I go for 3 and 4 too.

Handy if I do watch all 4 as, even though the writers strike is over and it looks like the actors strike might also end soon I suspect that soon there will be a drought of new movies being released as many of those due in November/December have slipped to spring 2024. Xmas and New Year might be 10 days of re-watching favourites?

 

[Shelter]

I always passed on these, mainly 'cos I'm not much of a Stallone fan but okay you have convinced me to give then a try. As we have said before some nights you cannot face a deep, emotional rollercoaster of a movie with a complicated plot. What you want is simple uncomplicated silly nonsense with a lot of car chases; crashes and bangs. I have grabbed the first 2 and will take a look and then we'll see if I go for 3 and 4 too.

Handy if I do watch all 4 as, even though the writers strike is over and it looks like the actors strike might also end soon I suspect that soon there will be a drought of new movies being released as many of those due in November/December have slipped to spring 2024. Xmas and New Year might be 10 days of re-watching favourites?

Slimjim try it - all 4 - but you must know it is pure nonsense and you must get oneself into this nonsense and you will really have much fun. Totally excessive action - but as I have said: simply hilarious! Give it as try!

 

[slimjim]

THE EXPENDABLES (2010)

A CIA operative hires a team of mercenaries to eliminate a Latin dictator and a renegade CIA agent. Imdb

What an utterly stupid plot, laughable nonsense - very silly! I particularly enjoyed the way that these professional mercenaries maintain excellent security procedures like sitting in a bar and as a girl walks in ask "Are you our contact?" Some of the acting is terrible (but then so is the script) but I will give the 2nd one a watch... not sure yet about 3 and 4. Regarding the cast it took me a little while to realise where I had seen one of them before. It was Jet Li seen here

 

[slimjim]

THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012)

Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. Imdb

I enjoyed this one more than the first as there was more of a linear story. The plot itself was just as nonsense as before and the forced wisecracks from Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger were all there to enjoy (if that's the right word) plus the in-jokes about which one will be back. Based on this one I think I just might get hold of numbers 3 & 4 .... even though Stallone's "acting" is still bloody awful.

 

[slimjim]

MENDING THE LINE (2022)

A Marine wounded in Afghanistan is sent to a V.A. facility in Montana where he meets a Vietnam Vet who teaches him how to fly fish as a way of dealing with his emotional and physical trauma. Imdb

I grabbed this as Brian Cox stars and he, and the other mainleads are all great. I'm sure the writer and director meant well and wanted to tell a strong tale of PTSD; survivor syndrome etc and they do. It's just that in places the pace really slows and then they reach for a large spoonfull of schmaltzy sentimentality.

On a positive note one of the locations was pretty stunning. I live close to a river but it doesn't look anything like the beautiful spot where they filmed this (Bozeman, Montana)

 

[slimjim]

BANDERSNATCH (2018)

A full length feature as part of the dark; surreal; sci-fi; dystopian; satirical near-futures BlackMirror tv series from the genius mind of Charlie Brooker

In 1984. Stefan is developing a computer game based on the book 'Bandersnatch', a novel where you get to make choices that determine the story. He has an opportunity to take his game to Tuckersoft, a software company, and have them release it. However, the more he works on the game the more his life emulates the game, with choices being made that are out of his control. Stefan appears to be going insane. Imdb

Jeez where to start... Have you seen Source Code? In that Jake Gyllenhall's character relives the same 8 minutes and can make different decisions as to what he does. Well that's for wimps 'cos in Bandersnatch there are many many choices that can be made - each one sending Stefan down a different timline path. If you watch this on the N3tfl1x app you have an interactive experience where you can choose for Stefan which option to take in which case the film could last between 35 and 90 mins depending which paths are chosen. To facilitate this they filmed over 5 hrs of footage covering all the choices. If you don't watch the movie on the app you will see the main 5 endings and at each ending you go back to the beginning and take a different path to another ending this non-interactive movie version has a runtime of 95mins

OR you can do what I did and get hold of the complete filmed footage and sit down to a 5hr 12mins mind-fuck of an experience containing each and every choice and every ending

Fionn Whitehead plays Stefan, Will Poulter plays Collin so that's a good start and as it's set in the 80s the soundtrack is such as Tangerine Dream; Frankie Goes To Hollywood; Eurythmics & Laurie Anderson

Maybe this will help to explain.

 

[slimjim]

EXPENDABLES 3 (2014)

Barney augments his team with new blood for a personal battle: to take down Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables co-founder and notorious arms trader who is hell bent on wiping out Barney and every single one of his associates. Imdb

I preferred the 2nd one to this. One reason I kept going was that early on Wesley Snipes & Antonio Banderas appears THEN Mel Gibson as the "baddie" THEN Harrison Ford pops up too and I was wondering "Is everybody in this?" so I kept watching to see if maybe Liam Neeson; Denzil Washington; Vin Diesel or Keanu Reeves were going to turn up. (Spoiler - They don't)

 

[RufusMc]

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One​

Another fab MI movie, has all the usual action scenes, twist and turns you expect from one of these movies. Story is a bit thin, but hey who cares with the pace they set and maintain it's a good watch.

 

[slimjim]

NEKROTRONIC (2018)

A man discovers that he is part of a secret sect of magical beings who hunt down and destroy demons in the Internet. Imdb

I think I ended up with this via on of those "people who watched this also watched..." algorithms. It's an Australian movie. I switched it off after about 25 mins. Rubbish acting; rubbish script; rubbish CGI

 

[Shelter]

A film from 2003 with Denzel Washington (I like him really!) OUT OF TIME

Matt Whitlock, the police chief of the small town of Banyan Key, Florida, is separated from his wife, Alex, a police homicide detective in Miami. Matt's been having an affair with Ann Merai Harrison, a woman who's separated from her abusive husband, Chris, and says she has cancer, as well. When her doctor tells her of a new expensive treatment, Matt decides to give her the nearly half a million dollars in an evidence lock up that he seized from a local drug bust. When Ann and her husband turn up dead only days after naming Chief Whitlock as beneficiary on a million dollar Life insurance policy, things start heating up for Whitlock as the evidence his wife Alex is gathering stacks up against him. And as if things couldn't get worse, the D.E.A. now want the drug money a.s.a.p. Anxiety runs high for Whitlock as he scrambles to figure out who has set him up and also recover half a million dollars all while trying not to break a sweat or draw any suspicions. He's a man who is way out of his depth, nearly out of luck, and desperately close to being out of time. (IMDb)

A really good old fashioned crime film with many twists and turns. Very recommended for a cold autumn evening to stir your blood.

 

[slimjim]

EXPEND4BLES (2023)

Well yet another very silly popcorn escapist movie, although in a few places they take up time with some introspection, pondering on the meaning of life...time that could be taken up with hitty; slappy; shooty; boom-boom; punchy; stabby & wisecracks. Iko Uwais is in this one - hard to believe he's 40!

 

[slimjim]

A film from 2003 with Denzel Washington (I like him really!) OUT OF TIME............

.................A really good old fashioned crime film with many twists and turns. Very recommended for a cold autumn evening to stir your blood.

FALLEN (1998) ... no trailer - too many spoilers

Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution, the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style. Imdb

Well I followed your lead and re-watched a favourite Denzel movie, this one from 5 yrs before yours. A youngish Denzel plays Detective Hobbes and is ably suppoted by Donald Sutherland; John Goodman and James Gandolfini. This is also a good old fashioned crime thriller with twist & turns BUT it has a psychological/supernatural edge too. ....... You won't be able to listen to a certain Rolling Stones song in quite the same way again

 

[Shelter]

FALLEN (1998) ... no trailer - too many spoilers

Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution, the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style. Imdb

Well I followed your lead and re-watched a favourite Denzel movie, this one from 5 yrs before yours. A youngish Denzel plays Detective Hobbes and is ably suppoted by Donald Sutherland; John Goodman and James Gandolfini. This is also a good old fashioned crime thriller with twist & turns BUT it has a psychological/supernatural edge too. ....... You won't be able to listen to a certain Rolling Stones song in quite the same way again

Oh I'll understand - and yes a long time ago I've watched this film as well. Perhaps I will search it and rewatch it because just in the moment I can't remember the story. But it is in my collection and I'll search for it for a rewatch!

 

[Shelter]

GRAN TURISMO (2023) ---- whoa it has blown me away!

Jann is an avid gamer from Cardiff who spends his days playing Gran Turismo, refusing to succeed in the real world. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Danny, a marketing manager for the Nissan automobile corporation, is running an advertising campaign and, together with the management of Gran Turismo, hatches a plan to launch a competition inviting gamers to try their luck in real racing cars. Needing help organizing an event, Danny turns to Jack, a former racing driver and incorrigible cynic. When fate brings Jann together with Danny and Jack, the gamer becomes the driver of a Nissan racing car, plunging headlong into the fight for a place in the sun in the competitive world of real racing. (IMDb)

Yes it has blown me away. I'm not a gamer and I'm not a car racing fan but this film hits me/us. It was since a very long time again a masterpiece of movie-art! Highly emotional (temporarily I've had tears in my eyes and very often wet palms!). This film really is a MUST SEE! If you don't watch it you will have missed one of the very best movies ever. And it is not only a fictional story but it is told from true events. Very recommended - no VERY RECOMMENDED!!!!!

 

[slimjim]

THE PASSENGER (2023) - no trailer, too many spoilers.

A man is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past. He must find a way to survive when his co-worker snaps and goes on a violent killing spree. Imdb

At first you think, what is going on here? then at about 15 mins in it ramps up and then grips you and takes you on a trip. A tense trip punctuated with violence. It's a small scale/low budget movie but well directed and the 2 main leads Kyle Gallner & Johnny Bertold are really good.