Movies/Films/TV - Opinions

[standardpostage]

1899. Netflix. 2022 an 8 episode series. Mind bending / mystery / sci-fi / drama / suspense. 8 out of 10.

Lots of languages with subtitles. Maybe a bit of a Marmite one.

Started to watch, then ended up watching all 8 episodes. Decent story, good acting, nice visuals.

Set in 1899. Immigrants travel by ship to USA. Stars Andreas Pietschm.

There will be a second series.

[mr.bluesky]

Das Boot ( the boat) on great action movie channel at 9pm tonight.  I've raved about this before. Originally a mini series but now condensed down to a film. German made ( with English  sub titles) about a German U boat in World War Two. It was recently re made as a TV series shown on sky but nowhere as good as the original.  Well worth seeing again.

[standardpostage]

Das Boot ( the boat) on great action movie channel at 9pm tonight.  I've raved about this before. Originally a mini series but now condensed down to a film. German made ( with English  sub titles) about a German U boat in World War Two. It was recently re made as a TV series shown on sky but nowhere as good as the original.  Well worth seeing again.

Das Boot. Seen it. Great film 

[king tarzan]

I find South Korean dramas well made and very interesting

[standardpostage]

The Swimmers. Netflix. Biography / drama / swimming / refugees / Rio Olympics. Good film.
Syrian language and English. 7 out of 10. Based on a true story.
Stars Nathalie Issa.

[standardpostage]

I find South Korean dramas well made and very interesting

The Squid Game & Parasite are very good.

[Marmalade]

Squid was also remarkable as a phenomenon. Most people loved Parasite and it is a great movie, though lacks the degree of violence I had half-expected.

I'd put Oldboy as the game-changing South Korean movie for me, never seen anything like it before at the time; Handmaiden a close second. I Saw the Devil has already been mentioned. I've not seen enough of many other highly-rated South Korean movies though to judge.

[catweazle]

I've been tipped off about Kaleidoscope coming to Netflix on 1 January. A heist series, somewhat  akin to the Spanish Money Heist, but this is described as "nonlinear " and watching episodes  in a different order  will give a different perspective on the storyline.

[Punterperson1971]

Troll on Netflix December 1st looks really good

[Ali Katt]

Squid was also remarkable as a phenomenon. Most people loved Parasite and it is a great movie, though lacks the degree of violence I had half-expected.

I'd put Oldboy as the game-changing South Korean movie for me, never seen anything like it before at the time; Handmaiden a close second. I Saw the Devil has already been mentioned. I've not seen enough of many other highly-rated South Korean movies though to judge.

As someone said to me there's no way squid games would have been as successful had we not been indoors most of the time due to lockdown. Same with Tiger King. Netflix haven't been able to recreate its success and they have tons of foreign series . Most successful have been love is blind and Dahmer this year both American and biggish budgets.

[Bangman]

Thank you to KT who mentioned 10 to Midnight. Just finished watching it and really enjoyed it. Can't believe a film buff like me gave Charles Bronson a pass. Probably cos i was born in the 70s and I've only seen Once upon a time in the West, Great escape, Dirty Dozen, Magnificent 7 and Death wish part 1..
These are the only films I believe I've seen of his..
If there's anything else good, do let me know (action violent type movies)

[ulstersubbie]

Funhouse (2019). A group of Z listers compete for five million dollars in a reality TV show, they just have to stay alive. Years ago Madness sang about the House of Fun, definitely more entertaining than this sorry excuse of a movie. F+

[Dickled]

Thank you to KT who mentioned 10 to Midnight. Just finished watching it and really enjoyed it. Can't believe a film buff like me gave Charles Bronson a pass. Probably cos i was born in the 70s and I've only seen Once upon a time in the West, Great escape, Dirty Dozen, Magnificent 7 and Death wish part 1..
These are the only films I believe I've seen of his..
If there's anything else good, do let me know (action violent type movies)

These are good...
External Link/Members Only)
External Link/Members Only

[standardpostage]

Let Him Go. Netflix. 2020 movie. Stars Kevin Kostner. 8 out of 10. Based on a book.

Mystery / drama / thriller / emotional. Set in Montana USA. Good story, decent acting.

Set in 1960s. Worth watching.

[king tarzan]

These are good...
External Link/Members Only)
External Link/Members Only

Really good film... Great actor

[ulstersubbie]

These are good...
External Link/Members Only)
External Link/Members Only

Hard Times is a very decent film, although the acting honours go to James Coburn. Bronson only became a big star after the age of fifty, very rare at the time.

[king tarzan]

Extreme was ok film
Way way far fetched .
Very cheaply made on the physical action front

[Rick2468]

Finally watched Dune (2021). Still processing my thoughts on it but think it was somewhere between okay and good for me. I have read the book twice and think very highly of it. I like Denis Villeneuve (thought Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 were both great) and the trailers for the film looked fantastic but I held off watching it because I love the book so much.

I thought the film looked amazing and was well cast. I liked Timothée Chalamet as Paul. I loved the scene on the Sardukarr's home planet, even though it was a very short scene it really showed how bad ass the Sardukaur army were. On the contrary I don't think the film really made out just how underestimated the might of the Fremen army was. What I love about the book is how Paul and Lady Jessica are cast out for dead without a cat in hells chance of even surviving but they team up with the Fremen and fight back big time. I didn't think the underdog story came out too well in the film.

My girlfriend fell asleep less than an hour into it so thumbs down from her.

[mr.bluesky]

Finally watched Dune (2021). Still processing my thoughts on it but think it was somewhere between okay and good for me. I have read the book twice and think very highly of it. I like Denis Villeneuve (thought Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 were both great) and the trailers for the film looked fantastic but I held off watching it because I love the book so much.

I thought the film looked amazing and was well cast. I liked Timothée Chalamet as Paul. I loved the scene on the Sardukarr's home planet, even though it was a very short scene it really showed how bad ass the Sardukaur army were. On the contrary I don't think the film really made out just how underestimated the might of the Fremen army was. What I love about the book is how Paul and Lady Jessica are cast out for dead without a cat in hells chance of even surviving but they team up with the Fremen and fight back big time. I didn't think the underdog story came out too well in the film.

My girlfriend fell asleep less than an hour into it so thumbs down from her.

I read the book many years ago and found it hard going. Watched the film years later ( the one with Sting in it) and didn't rate it either.  Recently watched the new version of Dune and thought it was a bit better than the original but I would put this down to the cinematography more than anything else.

[catweazle]

Watched a couple of gore films on Netflix over the weekend: Hostel. Three randy American  backpacking across Europe are persuaded to try Bratislava.  They go there and  pull some gorgeous girls, but one by one are lured to a place where  for a hefty fee, wealthy people can torture  and murder.

Jigsaw The jigsaw serial  killer died 10 years ago but is killing again.....

Both watchable, within their genre.  Hostel also has a fair bit of female nudity before the bloodbath begins.

[Bangman]

Watched a couple of gore films on Netflix over the weekend: Hostel. Three randy American  backpacking across Europe are persuaded to try Bratislava.  They go there and  pull some gorgeous girls, but one by one are lured to a place where  for a hefty fee, wealthy people can torture  and murder.

Jigsaw The jigsaw serial  killer died 10 years ago but is killing again.....

Both watchable, within their genre.  Hostel also has a fair bit of female nudity before the bloodbath begins.

Thanks for the spoilers  .. fortunately ive seen hostel,  decent film.. but you just gave away the plot and twist to anyone who hasn't seen it..
Please Don't tell us the endings of other films with great twists like saw, usual suspects, oldboy, seven, physco or even star wars empire strikes back..

[catweazle]

Thanks for the spoilers  .. fortunately ive seen hostel,  decent film.. but you just gave away the plot and twist to anyone who hasn't seen it..
Please Don't tell us the endings of other films with great twists like saw, usual suspects, oldboy, seven, physco or even star wars empire strikes back..

Mea culpa, apologies.

[Ali Katt]

This month:
Speak No Evil (2022?, Not rated yet borderline 15/18)
Pretty good psychological horror, similar to funny games with a surprisingly nasty ending. Difficult not to recommend if you like that stuff.
7/10

Appassionato
Weird Italian incest drama. Run of the mill and pretty much nothing beyond shock value.
6/10

Chef of South Pole (Japan, 2009, 15?)
Funny in places and charming cooking drama about what the title suggests. Hard not to recommend
7/10

Kopps (aka Cops, 2003, 15, BR)
Really fun cop comedy about a small Swedish town were the police invent crimes to keep their jobs. Similar in style to a lot of really silly British and USA comedies of 00s. Likeable and recommended.
7/10

The Real Blonde (15, DVD 1998?)
Directed by Tom DiCillo, if you've seen living in oblivion you know the style. Pretty much Kevin Smith with social commentary. Witty, intelligent and arguably best film on this list.
7/10

[ShadowProclamation]

I'm currently rewatching 'Ideal' (starring Johnny Vegas as hash & weed dealer Moz). It ran for 7 series, on BBC3, from 2005-11. Over a decade later, I had forgotten quite a lot of it and how entertaining it was. Just finished series 4 last night, culminating in a shootout between gang leader Stemroach and Cartoon Head. Stemroach died.

[Punterperson1971]

Just watching the terrifyer and tomorrow I’ll watch the second one,from what I’ve seen it’s very brutal
Art the clown is scary

Hidden Image/Members Only

[king tarzan]

The Beast
Netflix

I've got a friend we call him the beast😂😂😂
Looks like giant haystacks

[Ghost89]

Unforgiven. Japanese remake of the classic Eastwood western Unforgiven. Starring Ken Watanabe as the Eastwood character. Beat for beat it’s the same but with Samurai instead of Cowboys. Good but the Eastwood original is better.

[ulstersubbie]

All About Evil (2010). If John Waters had directed a splatter movie, this would probably have been the result. Wickedly daft and blackly humorous, half the fun is spotting the horror film references and kudos to those who recognize the more obscure ones. B+ for a real B flick.

[Punterperson1971]

John wick 1,2,3 and looking forward to 4 next year

[Ali Katt]

Eko Eko Azarak (no UK release would be 18)
Silly, but fun cult Japanese horror about voodoo in a school. Feels like straight to video but I don't think it was. It's sort of fun,but nothing amazing.

6

[mr.bluesky]

John wick 1,2,3 and looking forward to 4 next year

I enjoyed John Wick 1 & 2 not so much 3 which I thought was violent just for the sake of being violent. ( how many bad guys can be killed in two hours ) I do hope 4 is the last one in the franchise otherwise it will end up like the fast & furious type of film churning out endless sequels.

[Ghost89]

I enjoyed John Wick 1 & 2 not so much 3 which I thought was violent just for the sake of being violent. ( how many bad guys can be killed in two hours ) I do hope 4 is the last one in the franchise otherwise it will end up like the fast & furious type of film churning out endless sequels.

I believe there will be a 5th chapter of John Wick which I think was filmed back to back. I don’t believe anything could get as silly as the Fast and Furious franchise. It went from street racers steeling truck loads of dvd players to driving from skyscraper roof jumps to an adjacent skyscraper and racing Submarines. I can dispel disbelief in most films but this was utter shit.

[king tarzan]

Shotcaller was a decent film..

[qarma]

I enjoyed John Wick 1 & 2 not so much 3 which I thought was violent just for the sake of being violent.

lol.

Being violent, gratuitously so, is kind of the point of the John Wick films. I thought 3 was excellent and can't wait for 4, and 5 too if they've already made it.

[Punterperson1971]

lol.

Being violent, gratuitously so, is kind of the point of the John Wick films. I thought 3 was excellent and can't wait for 4, and 5 too if they've already made it.

Same mate looking forward to 4 but didn’t realise there was a 5

[Coriniumstud]

Can’t wait for Harry and Meghan new show

Hidden Image/Members Only

[MrMatrix]

Can’t wait for Harry and Meghan new show

Hidden Image/Members Only

Great picture. Do you think Harry had to pay for this

[mr.bluesky]

lol.

Being violent, gratuitously so, is kind of the point of the John Wick films. I thought 3 was excellent and can't wait for 4, and 5 too if they've already made it.

Yeah they have all had an element of violence in them but at least the first two had more of a story to them. I think I read somewhere that John Wick 3 had more killings in it than any other film .

[Punterperson1971]

I also like blade with Wesley snipes but I think the new one is out soon no.04 and he’s obviously not in it,but a blade without Wesley snipes in it isn’t blade so I won’t be watching it.

[mr.bluesky]

I also like blade with Wesley snipes but I think the new one is out soon no.04 and he’s obviously not in it,but a blade without Wesley snipes in it isn’t blade so I won’t be watching it.

Yeah, I enjoyed the Blade films and like you say without Wesley Snipes it won't be the same. Watched the expendables 3 film the other night. Blimey there are some years racked up now by the cast between them all, Sly Stallone, Annie Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes  Its a wonder they didn't need zimmer frames.

[Bangman]

Let's give the new blade a chance.. but yes certain films can't do justice to the original actor..
I.e. the recent Freddie krueger actor was Horrible, Robert Englund is the one and only to portray Freddy K..without him it's just not Freddy.
I can only picture Peter Weller as Robocop, No one else.

Likewise I can only picture Al Pacino as Tony Montana, Scarface.

[standardpostage]

Troll. Netflix. Good reviews. But I thought it was an average movie.  B movie.
Action / adventure / fantasy / monster/ mystery / thriller. Set in Norway. Subtitles. 2022 film.
Stars Ine Marie Wilmann.

[Marmalade]

Hounds of Love (2016). On AppleTV and a few other places.
Definitely not your Kate Bush!

The trailer was so gut-wrenching I watched movie.

Aussie horror / psychological thriller / abduction / serial killer movie providing just under two hours of nail-biting edge-of-seat stuff.
Stysh use of slo-mo and music, decent acting.
To its great credit it relies on pretty clever cinematography rather than the loads of explicit violence, so not a Saw-franchise type horror nor as strung out as the excellent but more mainstream Room.
88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Good soundtrack too.

[ulstersubbie]

Bergman Island (2021). "Bergman was as cruel in his art, as he was in his life." A married couple (both screenwriters) travel to the Swedish island of Faro, home of the legendary director Ingmar Bergman. They seek creative inspiration whilst paying homage to the filmmaking icon.

A cleverly constructed examination of relationships both real and imaginary, using the films of Bergman as a point of reference. Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps excel in the main roles, script and cinematography are fine too. A-

[ulstersubbie]

Jeanne Dielman. A film made in 1975 and now voted the best film of all time, ahead of both Citizen Kane and Vertigo according to a BFI Sight and Sound poll. I have my doubts.

It's about a prostitute, so especially relevant to this site. Any of the members on here seen it?

[Marmalade]

Jeanne Dielman. A film made in 1975 and now voted the best film of all time, ahead of both Citizen Kane and Vertigo according to a BFI Sight and Sound poll. I have my doubts.

It's about a prostitute, so especially relevant to this site. Any of the members on here seen it?

Me too. Not sure I want to fork out for a BFI subscription to find out, though it’s tempting.

I have doubts about BFI polls. It’s as if they get anyone who’s ever directed something called a film to vote. I saw their aggregated poll released this week as well. Kubrick’s 2001 beating Kane to the top. It’s an interesting collection, and Kane and 2001 are undoubtedly ‘great films’; but to judge them as ‘better’ than anything else ever made, year after year, is a bit like text-book worship.

[Marmalade]

Something that might be of interest to members is the BFI’s “highlights” from the poll that UlsterStubbie mentioned. They’re good films and, unlike Kane and possibly the 3½hrs of Dielman, they’re very watchable. I’d recommend all of them (except the Max Ophuls film which I’m ashamed to say I’ve not seen, and the Douglas Sirk which is beautiful but a bit marmite).

External Link/Members Only

[ulstersubbie]

Me too. Not sure I want to fork out for a BFI subscription to find out, though it’s tempting.

I have doubts about BFI polls. It’s as if they get anyone who’s ever directed something called a film to vote. I saw their aggregated poll released this week as well. Kubrick’s 2001 beating Kane to the top. It’s an interesting collection, and Kane and 2001 are undoubtedly ‘great films’; but to judge them as ‘better’ than anything else ever made, year after year, is a bit like text-book worship.

Yes the BFI polls are suspect, I stopped reading Sight and Sound years ago. Kane and 2001 are justified choices but as you say it all becomes a bit tiresome after a while.

[sir wanksalot]

Me too. Not sure I want to fork out for a BFI subscription to find out, though it’s tempting.

I have doubts about BFI polls. It’s as if they get anyone who’s ever directed something called a film to vote. I saw their aggregated poll released this week as well. Kubrick’s 2001 beating Kane to the top. It’s an interesting collection, and Kane and 2001 are undoubtedly ‘great films’; but to judge them as ‘better’ than anything else ever made, year after year, is a bit like text-book worship.

It's not a bad service.

I've dipped in and out of their subscription service for the last few years.

[Marmalade]

It's not a bad service.

I've dipped in and out of their subscription service for the last few years.

Maybe the 7-day free trial (on Prime). When it's free, it sounds good value even just for the hassle and getting 2 or 3 good films. BFI also do a free trial 14 days, haven't checked the conditions.

When I look through what they've got though, excluding stuff I've seen already (and a few of a type that doesn't interest me) it at first seems I'm left with Dielman and a Bela Tarr or Tarkovsky, each so long that it really needs an afternoon or whole evening set aside. Finding what they have though is hit and miss. The search function for instance isn't showing several that are in the best-of list as coming soon. I include BFI in my JustWatch filter but only rare get a hit with it.
Still, I take note of your encouragement.