Annie (1982)
After watching the 2014 update, wife and daughter wanted to give this classic a whirl. Honestly, one of the worst movies I've had to sit through. Terrible ott acting, mostly awful songs and a quite baffling tone that doesnt seem to know if its a musical for adults or children. Its over long too (2+ hours)

Whats funny is looking into the wikipedia page I was somewhat surprised to discover a film that really was never a classic. Neither loved by critics or viewers, it performed well at the box office but had such a bloated budget it didnt actually make money. 

Really Awful stuff. They dont make em like they used to (thank god) [2]

hylian_elf wrote:

Moot_Geeza wrote:

I Googled GH day and it was Thursday?

You had to Google it?! Man, sort yourself out.

I know it instinctively as it’s the day after my bday. All the cool kids are born around Groundhog Day.

Belated birthday wish, Muzzy.

DrewMerson wrote:

Slight overuse of the masks is the only thing wrong with that film.

Stop mumbling....

Kingsman: The Secret Service
There's a distinct style to Matthew Vaughans movies and Kingsman is no different. It's a nice enough riff on the Bond idea and doesn't take itself too seriously. Its not anything mind blowing but it is a very enjoyable action spy romp with enough well done set pieces to keep you engaged. Also hard not to enjoy Colin Firths turn as an absolute kick-ass agent. The sequels quality dropped off a bit but the first is solid  [8]

Let Us Prey 
Low budget horror with a nice take on the devil as a passing stranger. Liam Cunningham adds a lot to this movie as prisoner 6, but in going for a (not really all that) gorey climax it loses some of the lovely atmosphere that gets built up at the start. Would have worked better for me if it had kept things as grounded as possible. Still, enjoyable as a late night b-flick. [6]

The Trial of the Chicago 7
Really good Sorkin movie with a typical fantastic cast given some solid turns. Given recent events in the news about the US ploice, this feels more timely than had I watched it on release. As a film it manages to entertain, inform (and inspire to read a bit more about the event in question) as well as absolute enrage you with the injustice it potrays - Frank Langella is exceptional as the truly vile Judge Hoffman. Well worth a watch - although the ending does a go all Scent of a Woman with the uplifting music. Without spoilering, it would have been better to just have no music or cheering at that point (if you've seen it you might agree) Brilliant Stuff [9]

Barbarian Excellent tension builder. Felt very old school in some ways (a good thing by the way) - there's a bit when a door opens and a real 80s horror style tune kicks in and it's back to the VHS days except this delivers the thrills most of the old 80s straight-to-video never did.

As is usual with this type of thing the unseen is far more unsettling so the latter phase is a change of gear and it's never as good as the build up. That's a basic flaw in the genre but this makes the best of it. Shades of Texas Chainsaw and Evil Dead in this for me.

Best horror-flick of its type I've seen in some time by a good margin.

Worth

Interesting if slightly too melodramatic story of the 9-11 victims fund. The story is engaging enough but seems to hinge on an odd moment of clarity for the main character. Michael keating is as engaging as always but it overall feels a bit slight. [7]

Didn't it turn out that the groundhog had died over the winter? (oops, failed to quote)

Yeah I enjoyed that one. Watched it on a plane and it's perfect for that

13. Titanic (in 3D! at IMAX!)
Been a long time since I've watched this properly. Still holds up! Cameron is good at pacing his movies I feel, even if the story isn't doing anything fancy he keeps the whole thing trucking along. Seeing it on a big big screen shows some of it's flaws (water physics around the models most of all) but it really doesn't matter when you're in it. There were a lot of people who had clearly sobbed during the final parts coming out of the screening so I guess it still works it's magic.
[8]

14. The Happening
I like this movie much more than I should. I really think this would have been considered one of his better ones if it wasn't for Wahlberg and Deschanel. They are fucking woeful, genuinely terrible. He has a dumb punchable face and she, well, I don't know what she's going for. I really think if there were better actors in those parts with better intuition into how to play those scenes they wouldn't come across so dumb. There's just so many great little set-pieces. I think Shyamalan does violence very well.
[5]

I still haven’t seen Titanic.

I couldn't stand all the fuss when it came out. The Leo swooning and that bloody Celine Dion song.

I like it now. It has and will stand the test of time thanks to brilliant use of practical effects and a tropey 'boy from the wrong side of the tracks' love story. Plus Billy Zane's one dimensional but no less fun villian.

LivDiv wrote:

I couldn't stand all the fuss when it came out. The Leo swooning and that bloody Celine Dion song. I like it now. It has and will stand the test of time thanks to brilliant use of practical effects and a tropey 'boy from the wrong side of the tracks' love story. Plus Billy Zane's one dimensional but no less fun villian.

It's a good film. No great shakes. Kind of like Avatar in that respect.  There was a fuss over here from the family of the guy who was portrayed in the film as the guy who shoots someone trying to storm a lifeboat which wasn't accurate.

Rockwell deserved at least an Oscar nod for his role in Moon. It’s one of my favourite sci-fi films of all time.

I've only seen Moon once but it usually springs to mind as one of my favourite 'recent' films.