Movie Record 2021 Edition - The Bear and Badger

poprock

Inside Man
Still a great heist movie and arguably Spike Lee’s finest attempt at a mainstream hit. Strikes me on a rewatch just how many details the Money Heist TV show stole from it.

Gremill

38. The Mitchells Vs The Machines
Brilliant fun with some truly eye popping and stunning animation. Also very funny and although it does it heavy handedly (it is a kids film though) it's good to see big Tech getting a shoeing. The sequence in the shopping mall was a highlight. 9

Gremill

39. Good Morning Vietnam
First watch in about 25 years. It still stands up. What I hadn't noticed about it before is how well it's directed. It feels very documentary at times and very in the moment - Williams is at his best when he's not doing the DJ thing and shows some real chops. Forest Whitaker is brilliant too, as is the rest of the cast. It's made me want to revisit all of the Vietnam war films of my youth, but I've got no idea where to start. 8

poprock

Without Remorse
Hmmm. A Tom Clancy adaptation with too much action and not enough intelligence shenanigans.

Little Franklin

Wait. You can have too much action?

acemuzzy

Promising Young Woman

I quite enjoyed it. Mix of comic and serious, some twists, solid [8].

davyK

Scanners Still wonderful, ludicrous, watchable as ever. On Prime at the minute. And sparkly too - I first saw this on VHS.

Stalker Found the time to watch this birthday present. What on Earth this is about I'm not entirely sure. I may just have a repressed memory of watching this (or falling asleep watching this) late one night in the 80s on BBC2 or maybe Channel 4.

My first reaction to the sepia-to-colour jump once inside the zone was linking the transition to Wizard of Oz. They weren't in Kansas any more! The scifi theme is slight and, as far as I can see, a Maguffin for making access to "The Room" a challenge. The concept of that room is at the heart of this. I won't spoil that. But it asks the type of question we are all probably afraid to know the answer to. Wonderfully ambiguous - this demands rewatching after reflection. Far too soon to say where I rank it against Solaris or any other film of course.

To have experienced this and the Wreckmeister Harmonies for the first time in the same week makes me imagine what it must be like to have been to a film festival.

poprock

acemuzzy wrote:

Promising Young Woman

I quite enjoyed it. Mix of comic and serious, some twists, solid [8].

I fancy watching this but don’t seem to be able to. I think because I piggyback Sky Go from someone who doesn’t have Sky Movies, I can’t even rent it.

ShabbyMcCrabby

32. Ant Man
Paul Rudd makes anything watchable. It's a shame Edgar Wright didn't get to put his type of pizzazz on this as it could have used it
[5]

33. Civil War
They did a good job with this making you actually believe that these characters could be at odds with each other. Kudos to that.
[7]

34. Dr Strange
Worth it just for Madds
[6]

35. GotG 2
Fun and colourful but I don't think I quite realised how hamfisted the storytelling is throughout. I noticed it with the first too. Probably shouldn't expect subtlety from Gunn
[7]

36. Mitchells vs the Machines
Lots of fun with just the right amount of wacky. Perhaps a little long and a bit of a dip in the middle but definitely worth watching.
[8]

37. Spiderman: Homecoming
Gotta love spiderman.
[7]

38. Thor Ragnorok
The jokes don't land as well on repeat viewings but it's a definite improvement over the self-serious fantasy version of Thor's world in the previous movies.
[7]

39. The Empty Man
I like films that swing for the fences and this one does do that. Just doesn't quite get there even though it's got some good elements and good sequences. I feel like the main thing that lets it down is the Empty Man monster type thing that doesn't fit the film and feels shoehorned in. One scene in particular is really out of place and gross because the girl is supposed to be a high schooler.
[4]

Paul the sparky

Me and the boy just did Ant Man yesterday, it's his first time through a lot of these. He's loving them, the only one he didn't really like was Hulk but they've really hit their stride since. Big daft Civil War up next, and the moment he's been waiting for with the introduction of his favourites Spidey and Black Panther. It's been great seeing Nate cotton on to some of the interweaving stuff too. Wakanda got a mention in Ultron and Nate asked if they were talking about Black Panther, Cap moving Thor's hammer etc.

I'm still in awe that all this was put together, the logistics of it blow my mind. Making one film is tough, a trilogy is asking too much of most series. Yet this thing sprawls all over the place and yet you still end up with an entertaining stand alone film like Ant Man, which also fits neatly into the overall arc and puts foundations in for shenanigans in Endgame years down the line.

bad_hair_day

Can’t believe Shabby gave Ant Man a paltry (5) and that’s with Paul Rudd.

Wookienopants

We watched Endgame last night again.

It's still brilliant. Still makes me cry with sadness and happiness. That moment when

Spoiler:

It's an absolute masterpiece of a movie. To have pulled it off is a fucking miracle.

Gremill

40. Inside Out
It wasn't as good this time around but it's still a great kids movie dealing with some big issues with a really great voice cast and it looks stunning in HD. 8

41. The Social Network
I'd forgotten how fantastic this film is and it only gets more sinister with the passing of time. The whole cast nail it, especially Eisenberg who treads that line between obsessional disinterest and actively sociopathic manipulation. Only weak spot is, as usual for Sorkin, the almost complete lack of decent female characters. 9

davyK

Wookienopants wrote:

We watched Endgame last night again. It's still brilliant. Still makes me cry with sadness and happiness. That moment when

Spoiler:

Steve throws Thors Hammer for the first time still gives me goosebumps
It's an absolute masterpiece of a movie. To have pulled it off is a fucking miracle.

All correct. Even if those 2 films had ended up being just OK it would have been an achievement. The fact they are still entertaining is miraculous. The Hollywood system can work. Brolin's weary Thanos is the high point for me.

Little Franklin

Disney have somehow discovered the magic formula to making 20+ blockbusters without any real turkeys.

My B&W Jap marathon continues.

Red Beard (1965). Tear-jerky parables about compassion and selflessness that get me right in the feels. Doesn't need to be 3 hours long though.
8/10

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960). Absorbing drama about the life of a nightclub hostess. Ending is a bit of an anti-climax.
7/10

Woman in the Dunes (1964). Quite like the mood, and the novel, though ludicrous, Kafkaesque premise. Didn't get much from it besides that.
6/10

hylian_elf

20. Through the Olive Trees - 4 May
This goes full meta and twists the whole narrrative thread even more than the last film! A director picks out a cast and is making the film/documentary that was the last film in the trilogy, which itself was a film about how the first film was a film… erm, yeah hard to put into words easily. Great viewing again, I’m a fan.
[8]

ShabbyMcCrabby

bad_hair_day wrote:

Can’t believe Shabby gave Ant Man a paltry (5) and that’s with Paul Rudd.

Yeah probably a bit harsh. It is enjoyable. It's probably better watch by itself and not after the other ones where everything is just that little bit better put together.
I agree with Sparky too in how well they manage to connect them together. I think early on they were just really good at looking at what things they'd put in previous films and then building from there with some other stuff like Wakanda thrown in probably more for the comics nerds and less about thinking they'd make a full blown Black Panther movie 6 years before it was made. It's been fun watching them so close together.

acemuzzy

How are you watching these, Elf? DVD? Pirating? Don't see them on any stressing service :-(

.

hylian_elf

I have it on physical. The Koker Trilogy on Criterion Collection.

Webbins

52. Disclosure
Michael Douglas plays a techie embroiled in a sexual harassment tug of war with his foxy boss and ex, Demi Moore, in this steamy 90s thriller. 7

53. The Final Girls
A group of friends are sucked into a Friday the 13thesque slasher and must make it to the end of the film alive to make it back home. Entertaining comedic homage to 80s slashers with a very touching central mother/daughter relationship. 8

54. The Game
Slick 90s Michael Douglas thriller from David Fincher. Douglas plays a wealthy, troubled banker who is gifted a 'game' by his brother Sean Penn, which becomes an all too real rollercoaster experience. 8

55. The Vanished
This twisty Korean thriller sees a professor bump off his missus using an experimental poison undetectable by autopsy, which is great... until the body goes missing. 7.5

56. Host
The Zoom call from hell. Inventive, unnerving and concise found footage horror. A group of friends hold a group call séance during the Cove and unwittingly unleash a malevolent force. 8.5

Little Franklin

Gone Girl
Didn't like this the first time round (maybe because of the downbeat ending?) but I found it hilarious on rewatch (in a darkly comic way).
7/10

ShabbyMcCrabby

I really liked Host. I thought it was very well done. It surprised me that it was still possible for there to be a new Paranormal Activity or Blair Witch type low-budget thing that is better than it has any right to be.

ShabbyMcCrabby

40. Rosemary's Baby
Excellent. One I've been meaning to watch for a while and it held up to whatever expectations I might have had for it.
[9]

41. Isle of Dogs
What a phenomenal film. Every frame of animation oozes effort and love and that snappy pace was so compelling. Loved it. Kinda makes me want to watch Plague Dogs again but I don't know if I can do that to myself.
[9]

Moot_Geeza

ShabbyMcCrabby wrote:

Kinda makes me want to watch Plague Dogs again but I don't know if I can do that to myself.
[9]

Spoiler:

Minkymu

Little Franklin wrote:

Gone Girl
Didn't like this the first time round (maybe because of the downbeat ending?) but I found it hilarious on rewatch (in a darkly comic way).
7/10

really?

I think Ed Harris and Casey Affleck both give excellent and subtle performances.

I think it’s disturbing. The only lol it got was the fat bastard line in the bar

Edit -nope im thinking of gone baby gone.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Moot_Geeza wrote:

ShabbyMcCrabby wrote:

Kinda makes me want to watch Plague Dogs again but I don't know if I can do that to myself.
[9]

Spoiler:

But what if they make it to the island!

That's what I like to think

Moot_Geeza

Minkymu wrote:

Little Franklin wrote:

Gone Girl
Didn't like this the first time round (maybe because of the downbeat ending?) but I found it hilarious on rewatch (in a darkly comic way).
7/10

really?

I think Ed Harris and Casey Affleck both give excellent and subtle performances.

I think it’s disturbing. The only lol it got was the fat bastard line in the bar

Edit -nope im thinking of gone baby gone.

Heh, love this.

Gremill

42. Point Break
The 90s action movie revival continues with one that I had never really rated that much when I first saw it years ago. Why I thought that I don't know, because this was brilliant fun from beginning to end. There's not that much action actually, but it's a great film that's incredibly well made and constantly gorgeous to look at, brah. 9

nick_md

Plus 'Johnny Utah' is an amazing name.

Minkymu

And it has a great cameo from the red hot chilli peppers

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