Movie Record 2022 Edition - The Bear and Badger

davyK

Closing Gambit : 1978 Korchnoi vs Karpov and the Kremlin

Splendid documentary about the controversial world chess championship between 2 people who really disliked one another. Korchnoi the defector against Karpov the Kremlin darling with all the resources of the Sov Block. It's both a great chess story and a political one with a pile of contributors. Well worth a watch.

davyK

Rewatched Tarkovsky's Mirror. Got more out of it on a 2nd viewing but it needs further views. Watching it with my new glasses (my new varifocals means I can see the TV screen better now) it looks even more beautiful.

I didn't consider it all that hard to follow the first time - though it does shift time periods and uses the same (lovely) actress as his mother and ex-wife - but I found it easier to get this time. Marvellous piece of art this.

Cos

80. Encanto
A decent Disney effort with some strong songs and amazing looking sequences. Story was pleasant enough but really hammers home the lesson towards the end. Perfectly enjoyable but light fare. [6]

81. The Bubble
A group of actors and crew bubble up during the pandemic to make a film sequel. An absolute basket case of a film, started off reasonably well and first 20 minutes or so had some good laughs and endearing characters. By the hour mark I'd almost entirely lost interest and assumed it was wrapping up only to find another hour left. It focuses on the most boring characters for the most part, barely raised a smile for long periods and I guess is supposed to be satire but misses the mark by a mile. A few mild laughs right towards the end but really it's shite. [3]

82. Black Widow
Not much to say on this, it was fine really. A few enjoyable set pieces and Red Guardian had some good moments but BW is one of the weaker characters and didn't really need her own film. One for MCU completionists probably. [6]

Moot_Geeza

Dark Soldier wrote:

Speak No Evil (2022)

Best horror I've seen all year. Danish couple get friendly with a Dutch couple on holiday and go visit them. Shit gets weird.

On Shudder now. [9]

Spoiler:

Great film though.

Cos

83. Ash is Purest White
Drama following a woman's relationship with a mobster at three distinct points between 2001 and 2018 set against the background of change in China over the same period. There's a slightly off kilter vibe to this that's unsettling, particularly in the funny moments littered sparsely through the film. It's very engaging though, most of which hinges on a superb central performance and empathy with the characters. There are a few nice technical touches too such as using cameras available at each time period to lend a real sense of the changes. Perhaps didn't entirely hang together at points but still an impressive piece of work. [7]

hylian_elf

49. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - 17/9
A much better film, Part Two is. It has fun and excitement from the off (still too much overhead drone-cam style panning shots which I dislike). The length is still a problem (and there's a longer Extended version!), with many scenes that could be shorter just dragging on and not adding anything.
Still, worth an extra point or two for Smaug - even though his scenes also dragged a bit.
[7]

davyK

Smaug is a magnificent creation. Met expectations - at the very least - and that is going some.

The mo-capture of Bumberbum's performance, particularly on the face is superb.

hylian_elf

My whole living room rumbled with the bass when he spoke. Brilliant. A great realisation of a dragon.

ShabbyMcCrabby

111. Lamb
I love that movies like this get made. Probably need to do some reading about it to learn about the Icelandic specific nature of it. Amazing animal acting in it too.
[7]

112. The Guilty
I rather enjoyed this. It's a bit overblown but Gyllenhaal does douchebag well and all the voice acting stuff was done really well. Probably should watch the original at some point to see what it's like. Most people say it's better but I guess I've probably ruined it for myself now.
[8]

Dark Soldier

Iirc the original of The Guilty has a different, better ending.

hylian_elf

48. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial - 11/9
Went to see it at the cinema with the boy. He wasn't as impressed as I was at his age but that's understandable. Still a great watch, for me.
[8]

Gremill

60. Uncharted
Ooft. I've never played any of the games, but I don't think that even if I had that it would've helped me enjoy this any more. Souless, by the numbers buddy action 'comedy' with very little in the way of decent action or comedy. Tom Holland does done nice physical action stuff in it, but it's almost universally dull shite. 4

davyK

See How They Run Enjoyable. Witty, smart and sharp. A good old fashioned lark. Marvellous ensemble performances. It's a love letter to whodunnit tropes and the 50s is recreated beautifully. Recommended.

Moot_Geeza

Cos wrote:

79. Rocks
Drama about a teenage girl in London who struggles to look after herself and her younger brother after their mum abandons them. The film was made primarily with a young cast of inexperienced actors who brought their own input to their roles and it shows in the authenticity of their interactions and dialogue. It all feels very natural and that adds to the power of the film, quite bleak for most of its runtime with a few rays of light dotted through but ultimately an insight to the experiences of girls like these. [8]

Thanks for the rec, this was very good. Almost all of the kids were excellent.

LivDiv

Pinocchio 2020
A remake is somewhat justified given the problematic nature of the original.
I think this has been a bit over sanitised though. Pinocchio is supposed to be a bit of a shit for most of the movie then learn his lesson to gain his own conscious and become real. He never really dips into being bad in this version, just slightly misguided. He doesn't fully indulge himself at pleasure island for example.

CG is great. Story is ok. Lacks the magic.

The best thing is it reminded me of an old Italian guy I used to work with who looked more like a live action Geppetto in his day to day life than Hanks does in this. He even wore little white gloves when making a coffee for some reason. Can't remember his name, just knew him as Geppetto

The Daddy

I thought the CG looked terrible in parts.

LivDiv

There were some ropey compositing jobs.

The thing that was jarring for me in the art was the shoe horning of the iconic look of Pinocchio into this. In the original he looked like a puppet version of the other kids. So when he became real he looked like he would fit in. In this he would look like a fucking freak. Straight back to Stromboli's.

Raiziel

There’s another Pinocchio on the way from del Toro. Looks much better.

acemuzzy

Like London buses

tigersgogrrr

My favourite was some Italian (?) version where he burns his feet off and kills the cricket with a hammer. It was brill.

tin_robot

tigersgogrrr wrote:

My favourite was some Italian (?) version where he burns his feet off and kills the cricket with a hammer. It was brill.

I genuinely can’t decide whether you’re describing an actual film that exists, or jokingly referring to the fact that both those things happen in the original story - which is indeed brill, but rarely seen.

It’s my problem with pretty much all adaptations of Pinocchio that I’ve seen - that they invariably sugar coat what is a mostly very dark and messed up tale. I remember reading the original to my daughter and both of us regularly stopping to look at each other and remark on how crazy the story was. (A fact we both enjoyed.)

acemuzzy

I've been watching some Karate Kid, cos people keep banging on about Cobra Kai & I've not watched them since the 80s. And yeah, good clean 80s fun I suppose! Nearing the end of Part II.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Dark Soldier wrote:

Iirc the original of The Guilty has a different, better ending.

Nice. Makes it easier to want to watch then.

ShabbyMcCrabby

tin_robot wrote:

tigersgogrrr wrote:

My favourite was some Italian (?) version where he burns his feet off and kills the cricket with a hammer. It was brill.

I genuinely can’t decide whether you’re describing an actual film that exists, or jokingly referring to the fact that both those things happen in the original story - which is indeed brill, but rarely seen.

It’s my problem with pretty much all adaptations of Pinocchio that I’ve seen - that they invariably sugar coat what is a mostly very dark and messed up tale. I remember reading the original to my daughter and both of us regularly stopping to look at each other and remark on how crazy the story was. (A fact we both enjoyed.)

Maybe this one?

Moot_Geeza

acemuzzy wrote:

I've been watching some Karate Kid, cos people keep banging on about Cobra Kai & I've not watched them since the 80s. And yeah, good clean 80s fun I suppose! Nearing the end of Part II.

Watched no.3 in a film chat thing the other day. It's one of the best crap films ever.

b0r1s

I don’t recall number 3, think I wiped it from my memory.

davyK

Carnival of Souls is a cult 1962 film in the horror genre. It's more odd than creepy. Super low budget...apart from the lead , the cast feel like amateurs.

What makes it interesting is the photography. Very stylish and taken from unusual angles that adds to the unsettling atmosphere. There's an organ based soundtrack, that hooks in with the plot which grates a bit but adds to the creepiness.

It's said to be an influential film....Romero refers to it for example. I watched this on Talking Pictures channel but this has garnered a Criterion BluRay release and it is on many filmakers' Criterion picks on their YT channel.

Interesting but once is enough for me. I didn't find it an easy watch because of the acting. Horror film buffs and film students will probably like it.

Gremill

61. Everything Everywhere All At Once
Well holy shit, if I haven't just watched the film of the year. Absolutely incredible in almost every way, showing a level of inventiveness, playfulness and heart that just ticked every box for me. Yeoh was predictably great in the superb action scenes, but was also wonderful as the confused, stressed laundry owner in the process of losing her put upon husband (amazing to see Data from the Goonies all grown up) and her terminally unhappy daughter (what a turn by that actress). This is a film that revels in its absurdity and fully commits to the concept of a multiverse in the way that Marvel or DC films never could. Jaw dropping at times and the more I think about it, the better it gets. 10

Paul the sparky

Shit film

davyK

It was good - very good - but it didn't live up to the hype for me. I expected too much probably.

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