what was the last movie you saw?

[Adje]

Once upon a time in Venice (2017)

Action/Comedy/Crime with Bruce Willis. Last Willis movie I saw were the RED movies (which I liked a lot). This one is not in the same league and quite boring at times.

5,5/10

[PanicLord]

Romancing The Stone and Jewel Of The Nile

Great fun adventure rom com films with a good sense of humour about them. Predictable but very entertaining and brought to life by excellent star turns from Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Jewel is actually a much better follow up than I thought. It's a surprise and a shame that they never did a follow up but I guess a lot of that is due to Kathleen's health problems.

Stone 3.5/5
Jewel 3/5

[PanicLord]

Spiderman Homecoming

I actually wasn't blown away by this one. Tom Holland is outstanding as Spiderman and Michael Keaton is on top form. It's also not the same old origin story which is good. There's a nice amount of humour throughout and the film shows the challenges of balancing high school and super heroism nicely.

But the plot seems a little unambitious... good motivation but really the villian's dastardly evil plan basically amounts to wanting to steal some junk. And the ending is yet again our hero fighting a guy in a metal suit.

Better than the last 2 Spiderman films but I still think the Sam Raimi / Toby Maguire films remain the best, especially Spiderman 2.

3/5

[PanicLord]

War Of The Roses

An odd film really which doesn't seem to know exactly what tone to go for or what the main characters want from their relationship at all times. But brilliant performances from all 3 leads really bring it home.

I liked it but didn't love it. So 2.5/5

[PanicLord]

Lego Batman Movie

Lots of chuckles, light on guffaws. Looks great and makes the most of the Lego connection. Wears its message of the importance of hate as love and family and over coming your fears etc etc well without being over bearing. Overall entertaining but not one I'm desperate to watch again.

3/5

[Adje]

The Great Wall (2017)

Although nothing to do with it, this suffers a bit from the Marvel/DC Universe disease. It's all cgi/sfx, thin storyline, but most of all it lacks the Heart and spirit.

6/10

[Adje]

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

This comedy is filled with great funny moments. Not a Will Ferrel fan, but this is one of his best. So much scenes that still make me laugh.

8/10

[AndrewG]

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

*spolilers*

Awful. Should have spent the evening in the lobby or in a nearby restaurant instead.

The story felt like it was one of the bad ones from the Star Trek movies, like Insurrection or so.

Awful nasally lead male character who calls himself handsome and is supposed to be the Chris Pratt here but it totally fails. Cara Delavigne or whatever her name is was a bit better bit still unlikeable for most of the "film". Rihanna wasn't too bad but her main scene would have made for a more interesting music video for her than a worthwhile scene in a blockbuster where her character ultimately is totally irrelevant or totally forgotten by the end.

Riri is conveniently written out of the story in case there are other cheap ass sequels I guess and they can't afford her OR because I guess the real revealed character of her is so weird it is not "convenient" to have her around for long. Her purple form looks like Grimace from the McDonald's characters. Also her quick random death was such a bad way to write her out. Yuk.

The two human generals look exactly like each other so it is difficult to tell them apart. You also totally don't care about them or what they want and why.

You feel the movie constantly throws distractions your way after a somewhat interesting beginning. Frustrating story telling. It isn't until the last 20-30 minutes we actually understand what the fate of the pearl species is/was and the story finally wraps up. But its conclusion comes too late and is just not satisfying or interesting.

Just throwing visuals together inspired by Star Trek / Star Wars / Avatar / Fifth Element / Total Recall does not make a good movie automatically and this is exactly proof. Even worse than the Star Wars prequels in many places.

Weak ass story, totally no motivation of the characters, nor do you feel they are really ever in danger or that the events will really affect them, totally no point. They are also very inconsistent in places. Main character has no problem smacking the hell out of a general to only 2 minutes later say to the main girl "I can't possibly do that, I am a soldier and need to follow orders". What the eff?! You totally don't feel involved because of all this. Not a single chuckle from the audience during 2hrs and 15 minutes where the movie constantly tries to throw distracting gags. It is like a cheap Guardians of the Galaxy rip off (mention of a music playlist - totally falls flat) made by that US Asylum crap rip off movie company.

Waste of time.

On par with the worst movies I have seen in the cinema over the last 10 years: Godzilla / The Lego Movie / Ghost Rider 2 / Transformers 2 / John Carter (the latter probably best example of what this movie is exactly like).

4/10

Stupid projection problems at the beginning of the screening I was at didn't help. £18 a month isn't worth this crap from Cineworld. Guess I can't blame the staff too much. You pay them crap, you get crap. Weird the problems are always isolated to the same screen of the cinema I frequent most. Will avoid screen 3 there forever. Have never understood why movie theatres cannot make a more interesting experience for everyone whilst so much is at their disposal. Why no movie soundtracks before the trailers/ads over the audio system? Why in the hell would you aim spotlights onto the screen that are left on during the preshow so the front 10-15 rows cannot see crap. If I were an ad sponsor I would demand my money back and pull the ads from the cinema chain. Odeon and Cineworld both suck. Shame we hardly have independent theatres left in the UK that could give them a run for their money. Was going to go and see Terminator 2 in 3D on the 20 anniversary of Judgement Day later this month but instead I will put the Blu Ray on and watch it in my own movie room, turn the volume up, sit back and enjoy.

[Adje]

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (1999-2005)

I actually forgot how incredible bad these movies are.

The first time I saw them I thought that Revenge of the Sith was actually okay-ish. But that has everything to do with how horrible Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are. Because seeing it again, Sith is also a terrible film.

It's not just that the movies don't share any of the Star Wars Universe feeling, but the poor storyline, the dragging scenes and the bad script for all 3 movies overshadow the special effects that these movies are filled with.

Which is another problem. To start with, the sfx are already very outdated and look poor, but because the movies are basically just SFX, they lack the Heart and passion that is clearly visible in the original Trilogy and even the Force Awakens.

As I think of it, I can't think of anything good that concerns these movies. They are, and always shall be, a total waste.

2/10

[Adje]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

On par with the worst movies I have seen in the cinema over the last 10 years: Godzilla / The Lego Movie / Ghost Rider 2 / Transformers 2 / John Carter (the latter probably best example of what this movie is exactly like).

So I figure you never saw Jurassic World in the cinema then

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Adje

So I figure you never saw Jurassic World in the cinema then

As you might know I actually liked that one. Valerian was borderline unwatchable. Jurassic World had me interested but of course it's never as good as Spielberg's master original. If I had been on my own at Valerian I would have left the cinema as some people did. At all the bad movies I mentioned I did or I wanted to do that. Jurassic World was nowhere near that bad imo but sure there were cheesy moments I would have preferred to have seen done differently. Still thought it was better than Lost World & JP3.

Tonight's movie:
The Dark Knight

Masterclass movie making. DC Comics movies might not be as consistent as Marvel but when it's good it's the best imo alongside Superman from '78. Always stunning soundtracks too.
10/10

[Adje]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

alongside Superman from '78.

Agree on Superman. That's about it though

[Adje]

Silver Bullet (1985)

Typical cheesy 80's movie. Not the best Werewolf movie (I think that title belongs to American Werewolf in London) but something I can enjoy from time to time.

It's time they are going to do decent remakes on some of the Stephen King movies from the past.

7/10

[Adje]

Annabelle Creation (2017)

The Annabelle movies are a spin off from the Conjuring movies. but they just aren't in the same league as those films.

I wasn't impressed by the first Annabelle movie and this one, although perhaps slightly better than it's predecessor, was also very underwhelmong.

I guess a few scares for the regular crowd, but that's it.

6,5/10

[Guy]

Dunkirk.
Seb would like it. 😉

[Adje]

Demonic (2015)

Produced by James Wang (director of the Conjuring) and that was the reason we gave this a shot.

Very predictable, never scary horror/mystery

4/10

[Adje]

CHIPS (2017)

Nothing like the tv show. Mostly sexual orientated humor. I don't think I laughed once during the movie and the plot was non existing. I think they targeted 15yr old boys. Horrible!

2,5/10

[AndrewG]

Unacknowledged (2017)
Utter piece of tosh.
I don't believe in aliens (not the landing in the spaceship ones), nor do I think UFOs are alien space craft. However I am open to theories, always.
But this piece of crap nonsense really takes the biscuit. If you think those with opposite political views might be weird / uninformed or stupid or whatever this seriously is on a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL.
According to the film makers everything is a complete conspiracy and alleged random quotes that people mumbled on their death bed are supposedly solid evidence for the absolutely insane claims they make.
Only the narration from the chicken KFC drug leader Gus Fringe from Breaking Bad made this watchable but a damn shame he was wasting his time on this. Better Call Saul should have just been about Gus Fringe I think. Far more compelling than the weasel lawyer with his irritating brother. At least BCS isn't as bad as this moronic "documentary".
2/10

Prescription Thugs (2015)
Good, heart felt documentary critiquing the prescription drug problem in mostly the USA. It is a big problem and such a shame so many innocent people are getting caught up in this. Big pharma should be dealt a decisive blow. Big shame both presidential candidates didn't have this on either agenda (although Trump did mention the lobbying -
but will anything really be done?!!). The Clintons made the problem worse it seems.
7/10

Split (2017)
Excellent movie! M. Night Shyamalan is back. Really enjoyed it. Great soundtrack that really comes to life towards the end of the film. Great start to my long weekend watching this for the first time.
8/10

[Adje]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Tobe Hooper (RIP) made a quite disturbing movie. And even today this movie delivers.

A true classic
8/10

[AndrewG]

Gravity (2013)
Stunning audio visual feast in a home theatre.
Loved watching it more this time than when I saw it in the cinema.
Very well done movie. Far superior than the likes of Interstellar in my opinion.
9/10

Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Juvenile tosh. Almost beats Valareian to worst movie of the year.
Incredibly badly done. Zero character development. Zero background story you could care about in the slightest. Idiotic events. Terrible dialogue and a handful of bad actors.
Samuel L Jackson is becoming like Nicholas Cage and only showing up in bad movies these days.
I'm astonished at how bad this was. By far the worst movie I've watched at home in my home cinema setup.
Waste of a rental. Yuk.
3/10

[Adje]

Despicable Me 3 (2017)

They should have stopped after the first one (which was great fun)

Now it's just getting boring.

5/10

[PanicLord]

Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan is a superb film maker. His Dark Knight trilogy transformed super hero films and frankly blockbuster films as a whole. The Dark Knight is a tiny bit over rated and The Dark Knight Rises is a bit under rated but whatever. Inception is awesome. I love The Prestige. His early work is gripping and Interstellar is enthralling if baffling. His films always appear to be crafted by intelligent people at the top of their game and they don't assume the audience is all stupid as so many films do now. I also love that he has tried lots of different styles of film. I'm a big fan of James Bond and if, as rumoured, he directs the first film after Daniel Craig leaves I will be excited beyond measure.

So that's all his films reviewed apart from the one I've just seen.

Dunkirk is an extraordinary film. Minimal dialogue. No actual plot or specific heroes as such. Just... here's what it was like at Dunkirk. It was loud, terrifying, sometimes claustrophobic, lethal and bewildering. And through it all, there was bravery and solid determination to either get home or help others get home. It's pretty much as close to the real thing as I can imagine we will ever see. The cast are uniformly excellent and yes that includes Harry Styles. The sound effects are stunning. The film grips you from end to end.

Was it entertaining? No but then I'm not sure it was supposed to be. It was engrossing, powerful, moving, and at times unbearable.

And a triumph.

5/5

[Adje]

Not a movie. But great news. Colin Trevormore, the guy that made a total mess of Jurassic World, has been fired from Star Wars ep 9.

Jurassic World was an awful movie. No doubt. Bad screenplay and dialogue. But Colin made it horrible by his way of directing. It never got funny or scary because he had no feeling for it. The movie did good at the box office but it was clear that Disney gave him the job because of the financial succes, ignoring his incapability to make a movie interesting. I am happy this guy did another movie (the book of Henry) so there is no denying at how terrible this director is.

Disney fixed their mistake. Jurassic World was easily the worst blockbuster of it's year an one of the worst of this century. JJ Abrahams gave Star Wars back to the fans. How sad would it have been if Colin was allowed to destroy the entire trilogy.

Happy!

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Adje

Not a movie. But great news. Colin Trevormore, the guy that made a total mess of Jurassic World, has been fired from Star Wars ep 9.

Jurassic World was an awful movie. No doubt. Bad screenplay and dialogue. But Colin made it horrible by his way of directing. It never got funny or scary because he had no feeling for it. The movie did good at the box office but it was clear that Disney gave him the job because of the financial succes, ignoring his incapability to make a movie interesting. I am happy this guy did another movie (the book of Henry) so there is no denying at how terrible this director is.

Disney fixed their mistake. Jurassic World was easily the worst blockbuster of it's year an one of the worst of this century. JJ Abrahams gave Star Wars back to the fans. How sad would it have been if Colin was allowed to destroy the entire trilogy.

Happy!

Doubt you can go by JW what Star Wars with Trevorrow could/would have been.

I hated Gareth Edwards' Godzilla. One of the worst monster movies I've ever seen and almost worst movie in the cinema I'd seen till then I'd say. Very Michael Bay-esque (in a bad way). Dumb, stupid, zero character development and very boring. Far worse than JP 3 surely. JW to me was much better than both these monster movies (Godzilla and JP3). To me JW was probably in line with JP2 but more fun and rounded.

However Edwards did an awesome job with Rogue One I thought, proving a director can surely make a movie you do like even if you hated his previous one.
Just sayin'....

I also think it is somewhat bad style to sign someone on for 2 years and then to drop them when production is about to start.

Abrahms should just be doing all 3 in my opinion. Way better than his Star Trek stuff.
TFA was his best movie so far and it was indeed what Star Wars needed.

Signing these directors on so early and tagging production on all so quickly in my opinion isn't necessary.
The franchise easily could have done with the classic 3 years between main movies approach to make it all breathe a bit more and prevent the exhaustion we are seeing with the super hero carry on.

During the mental 10 super hero battle in Civil War at the airport I really thought it was exceptionally childish and I cannot see how more super heroes in one movie can ever be good or worthwhile.

I also don't believe Trevorrow would have done a worse job than George Lucas did himself with the green screen walking & talking, green screen sitting and talking, fart jokes, a bad acting child screaming "it's working, it's working" approaches in the prequels. Think he is getting a lot of hate for no reason of his own. If people really have read his script then maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

I hope Disney at least uses the Trevorrow departure as an excuse to postpone the release of IX till Christmas 2019. 1 1/2 yrs in between really is too soon in my opinion. 2 is bad enough.

BTW a crowd interview with Mark Hamill and his thoughts on TFA actually made me think a little bit different on TFA. He thought it would have been good if the light saber force pulling out of the snow would have revealed Luke Skywalker, who then fights with Kylo Ren. To me that would have actually have been more interesting. Obviously the ending would have had to be a bit different then (I'm thinking Skywalker defeats Kylo Ren but Kylo isn't dead - since this trilogy seems to be about his redemption possibly - Skywalker looks at Rey who is on the other side of the snow because of the starkiller base breaking apart and then looks he disappears with Rey simply saying "Luke" and trying to reach out. You could still then have the map and finding Skywalker's home carry on to some extent. But Hamill's idea was a good point and would have made more sense rather than Rey teaching herself the force so easily. In that regard TFA treats the force as a little bit lame I reckon. But at least not as bad as the prequels with the insane mediclorians stuff. Don't know what Lucas was smoking at that point! Turning the whole Jedi / the force into something physical was disappointing and the Jesus/Anakin born to a virgin mother thing was borderline insane.

[Sebastian.]

It (2017). Loved it. Good changes but still remained so faithful to the book. The subtle reference to the book, the 1990 series, and the King universe were superb (for those It fans, keep an eye on Ben's T-Shirts). It took me back to how much I enjoyed Stand By Me. The young actors did a great job. Bill Skarsgård is a fantastic and terrifying Pennywise.

4.5/5.