Movie Record 2021 Edition - The Bear and Badger

Gremill

davyK wrote:

Day of The Triffids (1962) A simple but effective treatment of the story that modern attempts haven't been able to improve upon. The special effects are dated but were not overly ambitious so have been used to maximum impact. Stars an impossibly handsome Howard Keel in a rare lead role that doesn't involve singing. Swaps the Isle of Wight for Gibraltar as the refuge but it also inserts a simple method of fighting back that is discovered right at the end so it's uplifting and not downbeat. Simplistic and very much of its time with women being there to scream and get into trouble - something which has aged badly - but it's a fun presentation of the story.

Is that the one that ends at the lighthouse? I've fond memories of watching that as a kid.

davyK

Yep. I remember that bit too from my childhood but little else. The film has quite a lot more to it. The lighthouse narrative runs in parallel with another about a group travelling around. The Keel character is in hospital and has bandaged eyes which is what most films and mini-series concentrates on. The scenes of him in London after leaving the hospital look like they influenced 28 days.

The man in the lighthouse is an alcoholic and quite bad tempered. It's more than the usual hero and damsel setup. Interesting for the time - the production seems to respect the novel and give it a good treatment. I watched it on youtube and it's a decent print.

ShabbyMcCrabby

97. VHS 94
A definite return to form after the terrible previous one. The framing narrative sucks but there isn't much of it and the fun shorts make up for it. My faves were the last one and 2.
[7]

98. Boss Level
Pretty fun action Groundhog Day. It actually gets better the further it gets into it, once it's done expositioning. It's a shame it's not as good as its best bits throughout because the best bits are very good but the average stuff is very average.
[6]

Minkymu

Watched arrival again following the chat in her. I wasnt fussec first time around. Enjoyed it 2nd time

Wookienopants

Arrival is absolutely brilliant.
And Amy Adams is in it. She's my favourite in everything

b0r1s

Watch it again in a few months Minky and you’ll like it even more.

davyK

Minkymu wrote:

Watched arrival again following the chat in her. I wasnt fussec first time around. Enjoyed it 2nd time

That was my experience too. I really enjoyed it 2nd time. Saw a lot more than my first viewing.

Minkymu

davyK wrote:

Minkymu wrote:

Watched arrival again following the chat in her. I wasnt fussec first time around. Enjoyed it 2nd time

That was my experience too. I really enjoyed it 2nd time. Saw a lot more than my first viewing.

This is exactly it. Id forget most of my first viewing but it just made more sense 2nd time around. Its a really good film.

davyK

As much as I love The Dark Tower series of books, Stephen King's It is probably my favourite of all his works.

It's a book that I consider hard to film though given its scope and size but - just watched It ch.2 and overall the 2 films are a solid film version. Ch.2 is a real fun house but it also keeps much of the feel of the book. I really enjoyed the old 80s version of this too but this is a step up in quality and the ending is better. I'm pleased to see King's cameo and the joke about his book endings was maybe overdone but appreciated. This gets a thumbs up from me.

Moot_Geeza

Agree with IT being my favourite, not that I've read anything of his since the early 90s (other than IT, which I reread a couple of years ago). Couldn't get on with the second part of the recent films though (after a reasonably strong part one). I thought the tone was all over the place and ended up disliking it far more than....most things I can think of in recent years maybe. Such a bizarre continuation that didn't work at all for me, I sat and read through dozens of positive reviews afterwards because I was so confused about the praise.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Yeah the second one was a disappointment for me too. Can’t help but feel they yipped it after the first one did so well. It’s a shame too because they absolutely nailed the adult casting. It was the one after the other scare sequences that got old pretty quick and made it all feel pretty disconnected to me

b0r1s

The first new IT opened with a banging scene that genuinely shocked me followed by that uneasiness mixed with the mystery of Pennywise. The second was forgettable pap.

davyK

The 2nd one definitely had light heartedness to it; even extending to a tribute to The Thing which raised a smile with me.

I enjoyed it but that's as far as it goes. There is a lot in the book that would make for a pretty dark film. Doubt any mainstream producer has the balls for it.

davyK

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Agree with IT being my favourite, not that I've read anything of his since the early 90s (other than IT, which I reread a couple of years ago). Couldn't get on with the second part of the recent films though (after a reasonably strong part one). I thought the tone was all over the place and ended up disliking it far more than....most things I can think of in recent years maybe. Such a bizarre continuation that didn't work at all for me, I sat and read through dozens of positive reviews afterwards because I was so confused about the praise.

There's a nice reference to It in 22.11.63 in which the hero passes through Derry and feels an evil presence and general nastiness in the people while eating in a diner. I've always liked that single-universe vibe I get from King in a clutch of his novels.

Minkymu

In terms of king material I really liked the books fog the stand and the dark half but no ones do d them justice on screen. The dark half could be unbearably scary if someone from blumhouse or del toro got hold of it and r rated it

Minkymu

My absolute favourite king adaption is salems lot. Which they are sadly remaking but the cast sounds good

davyK

Minkymu wrote:

My absolute favourite king adaption is salems lot. Which they are sadly remaking but the cast sounds good

I remember watching that on TV with the family when I was a kid. We didn't know it was a horror story until that wee lad started floating outside the window!!

Minkymu

Ha ha still creeps me out

davyK

My mother leapt out of her seat. Classic family moment.

The Daddy

davyK wrote:

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Agree with IT being my favourite, not that I've read anything of his since the early 90s (other than IT, which I reread a couple of years ago). Couldn't get on with the second part of the recent films though (after a reasonably strong part one). I thought the tone was all over the place and ended up disliking it far more than....most things I can think of in recent years maybe. Such a bizarre continuation that didn't work at all for me, I sat and read through dozens of positive reviews afterwards because I was so confused about the praise.

There's a nice reference to It in 22.11.63 in which the hero passes through Derry and feels an evil presence and general nastiness in the people while eating in a diner. I've always liked that single-universe vibe I get from King in a clutch of his novels.

I was just thinking about that bit after reading the books thread. I found that bit really chilling.

acemuzzy

It's 11.22.63 though. Cos America.

davyK

Heh.

davyK

Munich is the tale of Israeli revenge on Black September for the Munich Olympics. Great cast and while it's very good, there's something missing. It could have been great. It's based on a book I read several years ago.

Still worth a watch.

hylian_elf

29. Howl’s Moving Castle - 23 Oct
Another anime sesh with the kids. Beautiful, and decent for the most part, but goes a bit all over the place in final third or so.
[7]

g.man

I love that film.

hylian_elf

Does make me want to red the book(s).

ShabbyMcCrabby

99. Edge of Tomorrow
It's a very good Groundhog action film. A large part of its strength is in how it fills in details of previous loops without showing any part of that loop. And also the effective use of budget for the action.
[8]

100. Sleepy Hollow
This is Tim Burton doing good Burton. Helps that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Weird pacing stuff and story flow at times though.
[6]

ShabbyMcCrabby

hylian_elf wrote:

Does make me want to red the book(s).

I bought her Tale of Time City book which is supposed to be good.

davyK

Donnie Brasco Like Heat, another one I can't explain why I missed. Splendid cast again and well worth the watch. Had a real sense of doom about it all the way through. But I think most undercover stories are like that. How anyone gets motivated to take on work like that baffles me. Hats off to them.

poprock

Free Guy
Amiable, but instantly forgettable, nonsense.

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