Raiziel wrote:

The Evil Dead sort-of remake from a few years back is also well worth checking out. It dials down the humour and dials up the blood and guts.

Heh....heard it's bonkers. Will check it out at some point. I forgot how much I like this series of films.

I actually have that on DVD and remember thinking it was _okay_ but that's it. I'll give it a rewatch. Nearly a decade old now.

Oohh I forgot about the remake, I'll watch it after worm.

I had seen it on release, just forgot it existed. Didn't get round to it tonight, but will give it a crack soon. I remember enjoying it but it lacked the humour of the originals.

Army of Darkness is a massive pile of nonsense. In every way.

Going back to Devil Dead, I think people may be misremembering if they think it was a series horror. At the the time its gore and horror was all anyone noticed, but it's actually a very funny film, hitting lots of black comedy notes. For me, it's a far superior film to the out and out comedy of the the sequels.

50. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - 25/9
Great for eyes and ears but again way too long and so much they could have cut out. Could’ve been great.
[6]

51. The Shape of Water - 1/10
Hardly any originality to the story but beautiful to watch. Found the relationship between the lead and the merman unconvincing (and cringeworthy at times) but I was still glued to the screen throughout.
[8]

52. Far Far Away - 2/10
Low budget indie Hong Kong comedy romance about a 28 year old IT geek who is finding it hard to date and strike up a relationship with a girl.  Cue friends trying to hook him up and old acquaintances making appearances and other opportunities arising for him - and these take him to far and even remote corners of Hong Kong.
Some of the jokes were either lost in translation or you had to be Chinese - whilst I often smiled and lauged, out loud on more than one occasion, there were moments where the Chinese-majority audience in the cinema were in hysterics.
I don't know if the actors were professionals or not, but the performances were good and very believable.
One of the main reasons I wanted to watch it was the promise of seeing Hong Kong outside of the main city, which itself I am fascinated by.  It didn't disappoint and there were some beautiful scenes in locations that made me want to visit even more than before.
Took a chance on this and I am glad I got to see it, specially with a nice Q&A session at the end with the director via Zoom video call.
[8]

53. See How They Run - 2/10
Plenty of this fell flat for me.  The split frame style used on occasion didn't work for me, the performances were unconvincing, the comic writing was off (although I got one or two laughs out of it) and I was rolling my eyes a fair bit.  Completely avergae in every respect.
[5]

113. Buried
Remember when Ryan Reynolds did acting and would only occasionally throw in an RR style joke here and there. I feel like he's always been a pretty good actor. This isn't as good as some of his other more serious roles but considering it's a guy in a box for 90 mins it does pretty well with it. Just gets a little overblown at times to try and make it more exciting than it needed to be.
[5]

114. The Hunger
A rather sexy style over substance "vampire" movie from Tony Scott. I don't mind pure style movies - and I liked how this one used editing to convey the vampire effects - but it does also try and have some real story threads and when those threads are started but then forgotten it just makes for an unsatisfying movie.
[4 swooshy lace curtains out of 10]

@Elf I confused the October dates for scores briefly and thought you were being quite harsh.

85. See How They Run
Comedy whodunnit poking fun at Agatha Christie type stories. There are plenty of positives to this - a great cast with Ronan and Rockwell on top form, it is genuinely fun and funny, plus it doesn't overstay its welcome. There were a few moments where they play the obvious joke but handled in such a way as to be 'knowing'. But therein lies the biggest negative; it's far too self referential and not really clever enough to pull it off. It works in small doses but becomes to central to the whole thing, not enough to be farce but too much to be subtle. Still, enjoyed it and it's worth 90 mins on a Sunday afternoon. [6]

86. C'mon C'mon
Family drama (with a splash of comedy) about an estranged brother who agrees to take care of his nephew for a while. It's quite a slight film in many ways and relies heavily on the main performances. Thankfully the kid is endearing and sympathetic rather than annoying and Phoenix is strong as the uncle, also thankfully not written as a put-upon curmudgeon. It feels very natural, with Phoenix's uncle recording thoughts acting as narration, as we watch the relationship between the two develop. It's also beautifully shot and that lends to the intimate feeling, a great work. [8]

Ah, I've been meaning to watch C'mon C'mon.

Cos wrote:

davyK wrote:

@Cos re See How They Run. I thought the butler was a great turn. 3 bags full Sir. 

Heh. A perfect example of a knowing line, too good to pass up.

Cos wrote:

@Elf I confused the October dates for scores briefly and thought you were being quite harsh.

hylian_elf wrote:

Haha. I should probably ditch the dates. I just like to see how often I watch stuff etc.

This was the crux of my joke

The Daddy wrote:

Can’t wait until next weekend when everything gets 9/10

Doing a slack job of updating my list. Up to 94 watched, 60–69 below. Still way off Shabs, the movieman.

60. Old School
Bunch of thirtysomethings start a frat, hijinks ensue. Not seen this since back when it came out in 2003. Probably best left there, one of those movies from that age and cast that dates pretty badly. 5.5

61. The Crow
First watch of this, swerved it for years thinking it would be some emo angst fest, quite the opposite... what a film! A stylish and brooding tale of a resurrected rock musician wreaking vengence on his and his fiancee's murderers. Actually quite poignant knowing the fate of Brandon Lee. 8.5

62. Executive Decision
Pretty by the numbers terrorists in the air action film, but a quite entertaining popcorn movie all the same. Still not quite convinced Poirot could be such a nasty bastard. 7

63. Carriers
Post apocalyptic pandemic thriller, seemed fairly solid but kinda washed over me a bit. 6.5

64. Dune (2021)
Expected more from this. Visually impressive and a strong cast but I found my attention wavering and it just felt a bit bland, maybe just not for me. 6.5

65. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Weak fifth instalment as Freddy uses a baby's dreams to continue his reign of terror. 5.5

66. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Tarantino's stylish homage to martial arts cinema still packs a punch after all these years. 8.5

67. A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: Freddy's Dead
Fairly forgettable sixth instalment as Freddy's reign is 'finally' brought to an end by his daughter. 5.5

68. The Lost Boys
Iconic 80s black comedy vamp movie, great cast, top soundtrack and always rewatchable. 8

69. Hustle
Very enjoyable Sandler flick, as his jaded NBA scout gives his all to get a flawed but brilliant Spanish player into the NBA. Cracking basketball action and Sandler gives a very strong performance as the scout with heart and belief. 8.5

I have a funny relationship with Kill Bill. At first I liked it. Then I didn't. Now I like it again.

Some of the performances are what make it for me. Michael Parks as the Sheriff and then as the pimp is spectacularly good in it.