His Last Supper also fuckin rocks out. Da V in the House!

Sexy Beast

Being set in Spain makes it no more Spanish than Lord of the Rings is Middle-Earthish.

Are there any major films actually set in New Zealand not just filmed there?
Moana doesn't count.

Once Were Warriors maybe.

Yossarian wrote:

Heavenly Creatures.

Peter Jackson's beat film

The Gentlemen
I suppose this is Guy Ritchie going back to doing what he does best, but in 2022 that's a bit wank. Some amusing deployments of the word 'cunt' aside, it's a sad, soggy effort.

I've really dropped off the pace in recent weeks. Anyway, cinema trip at the weekend for:

66. Thor: Love and Thunder
I have pretty much the same sentiments as everyone else. I enjoyed it overall and there were some really great moments but it was just too silly and that negatively impacted much of menace or peril generated by the villain. The first hour in particular, the first sequence even, was fun but didn't really feel in keeping with the MCU vibe and bordered on parodying their own films.
The second hour was an improvement, largely helped by Bale getting more screen time (though still felt he was underused) and the Hemsworth/Thompson/Portman dynamic being pretty strong. Add in the slices of humour that really worked, some stunning sequences and it's difficult to score this one too harshly despite the downsides. I might revise this on a second viewing but for now it's a [7].

g.man wrote:

Mona Lisa is still an absolute banger.

Haven't watched that in an age.

Has made me wonder how The Crying Game has aged. Unrelated but around the same time in my mind.

edit - 6 years apart. Yikes.  Now I'm wondering if I'm racist.

Yossarian wrote:

Being set in Spain makes it no more Spanish than Lord of the Rings is Middle-Earthish.

Twas said in jest

Watched Coming Home in the Dark today. Lost its way a little after a confident start.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Watched Coming Home in the Dark today. Lost its way a little after a confident start.

Aye that's fair. Slipped to an 8 for me after a weaker second half. Still a good watch though.

Flee
I always feel like "animated documentary" is an oxymoron, but this, like "Waltz with Bashir" before it, is excellent.  Flee is unusually personal, it tells the story of the film-maker's friend Amin, an Afghan refugee who, until then, has kept much of his memories of his flight from Afghanistan secret.

What results is a sprawling, very human tale, of a family destroyed by war. One of the film's greatest strengths is in giving us a fairly frank portrayal of Amin - he's not always 100% sympathetic or reliable, but somehow this just adds to the reality of the story he's telling us. 

The hand drawn animation is consistently beautiful, whilst the occasional switches to real life footage of events usually hammers home the ugliness of what is being described. Amin tells the story reclining on his bed, his face framed directly in front of us, creating the illusion of intimacy. And intimacy matters in this story - which is as much about an Afghani man fleeing who he is, as much as it is about a family fleeing a country.

There are moments of quiet domesticity in among the stories of war and people trafficking, but not a single frame is wasted. 

It's an oddly hopeful film, despite being depressing in feeling ever more relevant to our times...

33. Dr Strange in The Multiverse of Madness - 6

Felt like the pilot to a Dr Strange Disney+ TV show. The cameos weren’t strong enough. The Raiminess didn’t save it and the tone was way off for a Marvel film. The only saving grace was…

34. The Mummy - 9

Classic fun action. Everyone on top form. Zero complaints and Rachel looking lovely as ever.

35. The Mummy Returns - 7

I recall loving this when I watched it at the cinema. Time has not been kind to this sequel. It’s ok and the leads are still fun but a big step down from the first film. Let’s not talk about the third.

36. Her - 8

Only Joaquin could have pulled this off. There are a lot of scenes with just him staring at the screen as Scarlett talks but somehow it works. Didn’t know where it was going and the end was surprising but shouldn’t have been. Enjoyed the complexities of relationships in the near future.

Her is great. Watch Lars and the Real Girl if you haven't seen it.