Movie record 2020 edition - The Bear and Badger

retroking1981

194. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 7
First time I've ever seen this. Loved the first half, but it lost me a bit when the main characters obsession takes over and he turns into a complete arse hole. Can see why it was such a big deal though, and the effects hold up surprisingly well.

195. Lord of the Flies (1963) - 6
Last saw this back in school. Strikes me as a great book that doesn't quite make the transition into film.

196. Gremlins - 8
A Christmas classic for me. An absolutely bonkers film when you think about it but very entertaining.

My list

Gremill

Wookienopants wrote:

poprock wrote:

La La Land
Didn’t plan to rewatch this again but it was on TV and I couldn’t resist. It’s still magical. Charming, beautiful, sad, and funny. An all-timer.

I cried my eyes out as the story kind of hit a few familiar notes for me towards the end.
I went to see it in the cinema on my own, came home and when my wife asked how it was I just reached out for a hug and couldn't find the words.

I love it so much

It's an all timer for me too. I'm not a fan of musicals generally but love it - it had me hooked from that first number. I watched it for the first time on the plane back from California and wept openly. Although that may have been all the free Glenlivet the flight attendants kept bringing me.

poprock

We switched to TV on last night to watch something else, La La Land was about 30 mins in, and we just sat back and turned the sound up. It’s becoming a familiar old friend and it doesn’t lose any of its emotional impact.

poprock

Mulan
Live action remake of a cartoon I’ve never watched. It’s a simple story but the action and the cinematography are beautiful. And the colours! So vibrant. Not a special movie, but a pretty one.

LivDiv

Is that now included in the Disney+ sub?

poprock

Yep, it’s on there.

poprock

Ava
‘Hot female assassin turns against her employers’ is becoming a real cliché. Jessica Chastain has a convincingly military physicality in this, but it’s not a genre great.

LivDiv

poprock wrote:

Yep, it’s on there.

Nice. Will give it a watch this week.

Webbins

170. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Heartwarming festive tale as Dickie Attenborough brings belief in Santa to the people of New York. 7

171. Jingle All The Way
Schwarzenegger hams his way through a very silly film using a Turbo Man doll to poorly convey its message. It gets an extra point for the 'Put the cookie down' line. 5

ShabbyMcCrabby

190. The Grinch
Some stunning animation work and some very good physical comedy but it's let down by not being able to commit to it's setting by chucking in known songs and such.
[6]

Gremill

64. Mulan
Great looking but ultimately very flat and uninspiring. 6

hylian_elf

74. Solo - 27 Dec
Fun enough, but completely unnecessary. Some lovely space shots at least.
[6]

poprock

Noelle
More of a kids film than I expected. Still, Kendrick is funny. Christmas tosh, 5/10.

poprock

Tenet
Not as bad as I was expecting. A perfectly decent action flick, albeit with minimal actual plot.

ShabbyMcCrabby

191. A Simple Plan
Raimi does Coen in a pretty solid little thriller thing. Just felt a bit long and not as tight as a Coen. Billy Bob is excellent.
[6]

Gremill

65. Soul
Visually stunning, funny and touching it's the best film Pixar have made for quite a while - really the only thing that marks it out as a kids film is that it's animated, but it really is one for adults. 9

retroking1981

197. It's A Wonderful Life - 9
A classic that lives up to its reputation imo.

198. Mulan - 6
Never seen the animated version but this was a decent watch.

199. Orphan - 5
Entertaining enough horror with Vera Fargima. Second viewing so the twist lacked impact and it wasn't clever enough to have any 'Oh, now that makes sense' moments.

200. Gremlins 2: The New Batch - 5
Disappointing sequel for me. Like Robocop 2 and TMNT2 the influence from it's popularity with kids makes the sequel a lot lighter in tone. Some good slapstick moments make it entertaining enough though.

My list

Moot_Geeza

Big agree with Robocop 2 and (especially) TMNT2 but Gremlins 2 is a cracker imo.

LivDiv

Gremlins 2 is a bit lighter but then Gremlins has a character give a speech about their dad breaking his neck and dying wedged in a chimney while pretending to be Santa sooooooo...

nick_md

I will defend RoboCop 2 til I die.

Tempy

Gremlins 2 is pure genius. Joe Dante was off the project for ages, and only came back after multiple attempts had failed to get off the ground. His only condition for joining was that he was allowed complete creative control. He also got 3 times the budget of the previous.

It's a proper work of love, full of satire and meta references and just loads of crazy shit.

It also has the below scene in it, which is the highest work of art ever committed to screen. There is no greater 10 seconds in all of Western cinema.

retroking1981

nick_md wrote:

I will defend RoboCop 2 til I die.

You must be high on Nuke.

Gremill

Tempy wrote:

Gremlins 2 is pure genius. Joe Dante was off the project for ages, and only came back after multiple attempts had failed to get off the ground. His only condition for joining was that he was allowed complete creative control. He also got 3 times the budget of the previous.

It's a proper work of love, full of satire and meta references and just loads of crazy shit.

It also has the below scene in it, which is the highest work of art ever committed to screen. There is no greater 10 seconds in all of Western cinema.

Big agreesments. Doesn't he end up as phantom of the opera?

Tempy

Yep, that's phantom!

I think it's interesting that people identify it as kiddie leaning. It's just that Dante wanted to make his own film. Like Raising Arizona, it's as close to a live action cartoon as you can get.

As a kid I remember being terrified by the Bat and Spider Gremlins though. Yeuch.

hylian_elf

It had Phoebe Cates who was well cute.

regmcfly

Gremlins 2 is a work of god. The Key and Peele sketch proves it.

regmcfly

poprock

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Not what I expected. More of a locked room play than a big budget movie, with a strong performance from Chadwick Boseman (RIP).

Gremill

66. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Great fun with RDJ chewing up the screen and Jared Harris being excellent as ever as Moriarty. Better than the first one. 8

retroking1981

201. Doctor in Distress - 5
Another ok Doctor film, was getting a bit tired by this point.

202. Tenet - 4
I shouldn't have watched this as I really wasn't in the mood but I lost the vote in my house. I lost interest about half way through, some good ideas but really hard to follow. I might have enjoyed it more if I was in the mood for something so complex. Lovers of the film on the internet say it's one you need to watch 2 or 3 times to get. Doubt I'll bother with it again.

203. Doctor in Clover - 6
This one was was released after Carry On Doctor and the influence from that shows. Definitely one of the stand outs of the series.

204. RocknRolla - 7
Not Guy Richies best, but still much better than most British gangster flicks. Some top performances especially Toby Kebbell as the top gangsters unloved junkie stepson.

205. Doctor in Trouble - 6
Not quite as good as the last entry but I find Harry Secombe hilarious as a working class football pools winner looking for a future wife on the cruise. I only knew him from Songs of Praise as a kid so that might have made it funnier than it is to me.

206. Driving Me Crazy - 8
Massively underrated/unknown comedy penned by John Hughes. A working class man has to drive his stepson home from his private school for the holidays. Basically a mix of Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Over the Top. Stars Ed O'Neill during the height of his Married... With Children fame in a rare leading role, he's probably best known now for his role in Modern Family. Funny film that deserves more recognition.

207. Soul - 8
Top Pixar stuff, not sure how much little kids will appreciate it compared to their other films. Quite deep in places, definitely one for parents to enjoy on the sly.

My list

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories