Movies/Films/TV - Opinions

[riker]

On the subject of Gene Hackman I recently watched him and Denzil Washington in the film Crimson tide , set aboard a US nuclear submarine . Probably my two favourite actors

Awesome movie.

[silverspoon]

Started in on The Hunting Wives on ITV/ITVX. Two consecutive episodes earlier this week, further available on ITVX.

Some fairly explicit sex scenes, to keep you interested, although I don't yet know whether I'll stick with it as the main theme hasn't yet really kicked in.

Just finished season 1,wont be bothering with season 2

[Bangman]

Lazy friday night, i watched L.A Confidential and Unleashed..

L.A Confidential.. Havent watched this in 25 years or so, I forgot what a superb movie this is.. Guy Pearce, Russel Crowe and Kevin Spacey are terrific..

And

Unleashed, seeing this after 15 years is probably up there in my top 5 favourite Jet Li films.. in terms of acting, Jet li was very good, Good Casting in Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman and at the time not so famous Tamer Hassan and scott Atkins. Didn't know it was written  by Luc Beeson (Leon, Taken, Lucy)

[mr.bluesky]

Watched the first season of The night manager with Tom Hiddleston, thought it was pretty good but can't get into the second season, its a bit slow going and the lovely *Elizabeth Debicki isn't in this series.
* I nominated her in the WWWE thread a long time ago

[Darren101]

I watched

Stranger Things final season. Good music.  Good way to finish. Not for everyone as I imagine older viewers may not get into it as I sometimes find it a bit childish and some of the characters annoying.

Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire - purely because it was released on netflix.  Was average but watchable. Easy watch.

Martyrs (2008 French film). The 2015 remake is in English.  Very violent and shockingly  gory at times. Interesting watch.

The Good Doctor - autistic surgeon.  Startedoff interesting. Got bored after 1st season. Has lots of operation scenes which look a bit gory. Not good if you’re squeamish

[ulstersubbie]

Love Crime (2010). Ruthless corporate executive manipulates her apparently naïve protégé, but the young woman isn't as innocent as she seems. The French are normally reliable when it comes to producing psychological thrillers but Love Crime never really rises above average, too much melodrama and a lack of subtlely leave it stranded. Stars the classy and gorgeous Kristin Scott Thomas who's always very watchable irrespective of how good or bad the film is.  C+

Roofman (2025). Man escapes from prison and ends up hiding in a toy store, surviving undetected for a prolonged period of time. Based on the bizarre real life story of convicted robber Jeffrey Manchester, Roofman is a somewhat incredulous but likeable tale, a nice mixture of drama and comedy and two bright performances from Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst in the lead roles.  B

Turbulence (2025). A married couple end up in danger when they take a hot air balloon trip in the Dolomites. Wonky thriller that's entertaining enough if you're not too fussy, stars Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) in a small cameo role.  C-

[Stevelondon]

On the subject of Gene Hackman I recently watched him and Denzil Washington in the film Crimson tide , set aboard a US nuclear submarine . Probably my two favourite actors

I loved Hackman in “Under suspicion”

Jeez I forgot just how much I fancied Monica Belucci !

[mr.bluesky]

F1 - The movie starring Brad Pitt as an ageing F1 driver brought into a team to help a rookie driver. Probabably the worst motor racing film I've seen. Real life race scenes from a couple of seasons ago used in the film along with CGI and unrealistic race scenarios with commentary from Sky's Martin Brundle and David Croft and cameo appearences by numerous F1 drivers ( obviously playing themselves ) probably aimed at the American market who don't understand F1 as every situation is explained in commentary voice overs by Brundle such as DRS, pit stops, tyre choice etc. Doesn't even come close to films like " Rush" , Le Mans or Ford v Ferrari which are much better films. If you've not seen it give it a swerve.
It's all razzmatazz and full of cliches and you can guess what's going to happen before it happens

[myothernameis]

On prime tv, just been watching, From the world of John Wick: Ballerina

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and it lives up to the John Wick movies.  Movie began at a slow pace, but soon the action picked up

The story put a different slant on the  crime syndicate's, and another group involved out side of the syndicate's

[Dickled]

On prime tv, just been watching, From the world of John Wick: Ballerina

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and it lives up to the John Wick movies.  Movie began at a slow pace, but soon the action picked up

The story put a different slant on the  crime syndicate's, and another group involved out side of the syndicate's

I hope it's better than John Wick 4.

[mr.bluesky]

I hope it's better than John Wick 4.

Surely it can't be any worse 
It does have the lovely Ana de Armas in it so that's a bonus.

[PilotMan]

Surely it can't be any worse 

John Wick peaked at 1, downhill ever since IMO.

[mr.bluesky]

John Wick peaked at 1, downhill ever since IMO.

100 % agree 
I fear the Equalizer films are going down that same route. Over flogging a succesful first film

[Waterhouse]

100 % agree 
I fear the Equalizer films are going down that same route. Over flogging a succesful first film

Fully concur re JW1… it became messy and convoluted after the first film.  Not sure re. McCall though; agree No. 2 was not as good as the first, but still quality compared to JW sequels. However, I really liked the third film, just a shame they had a different composer for the score. Will have to wait and see what 4 & 5 bring to the table.

[Dickled]

Noticed there's a superb film now available to warch free on Amazon Prime, "Salvador", James Woods.

I think the Equalizer films are infinitely preferable to the John Wick films.
I like Keanu Reeves, but I think Denzil Washington has more gravitas.

[Bangman]

I must be the only one that enjoyed John Wick 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.
It's hard for me to rank them.
Part 1 is original.
Part 2 has that brilliant fight scene in the subway and all these assassins from all over the world. I like the big chinese guy.
Part 3 has the Magnificent duo from the Raid films and that library fight is awesome.
Part 4 has a Superb Donnie Yen, Amazing fight scenes BUT I will accept, running time was way too long.

Equalizer 1 is Brilliant, Part 2 is Very good and Part 3 was just about OK.

And who would win in a battle.. if Denzel was tasked to capture John wick..I'd say Denzel may do it but sacrifice a few bullets to the body.

[PilotMan]

And who would win in a battle.. if Denzel was tasked to capture John wick..I'd say Denzel may do it but sacrifice a few bullets to the body.

Nah, Johnny English would take them both out 

[Steve2]

New series of The night manager on Netflix

So far so good 

[mr.bluesky]

New series of The night manager on Netflix

So far so good 

Also on BBC 1 and BBC iplayer. I enjoyed the first season of this and as I posted earlier #9103 finding it difficult to get into the second series. It seems a bit slow to get going.

[Steve2]

New series of The night manager on Netflix

So far so good 

My apologies , it is the new series of The Night Agent on Netflix that I've been watching

[PilotMan]

Last night I watched the Netflix documentary "Evil Influencer, The Jodi Hildebrandt Story".


A tough watch, but fascinating to see how some people are absolutely radio rental sick fucks, and live in an alternate reality.

And how others will blindly follow and do things that are against normal moral principles when following an ideology.
 

[bhudda]

went to see Hamnet recently - soooo overated imo - this review sums up my feeling perfectly

   External Link/Members Only

[Steve2]

The Rip on Netflix. Good cast but average film

[ik8133]

The Rip on Netflix. Good cast but average film

I agree, watched it last night.

[Jonestown]

The 13th Floor, in full for free on YouTube, interesting watch, not sure how it would be categorised, with a stunning leading lady, Gretchen Mol.

[Darren101]

After Life

Underrated British comedy drama with Ricky Gervais.  Does depict a lot of the problems in this country. On netflix. I’m a few episodes into S1

[standardpostage]

The 13th Floor, in full for free on YouTube, interesting watch, not sure how it would be categorised, with a stunning leading lady, Gretchen Mol.

Just watched it. Free on YouTube, Poor quality version because it was free. Decent film, I enjoyed it. Sci-fi / drama / murder mystery. 1999 movie.

Bit like The Matrix film. Mind bender of a movie. 7 out of 10 from me.  There is a paid version, which I assume will be better quality sound and vision.

[mr.bluesky]

This weekend a couple of classic Clint Eastwood westerns on Sky arts. On Saturday " A fistfull of Dollars" then Sunday " For a few Dollars more with the great Lee Van Cleef and the iconic soundtrack by Ennio Morroconi. I love the final shoot out scene at the end of " For a few Dollars more" one of my all time favourite movie scenes.

[standardpostage]

This weekend a couple of classic Clint Eastwood westerns on Sky arts. On Saturday " A fistfull of Dollars" then Sunday " For a few Dollars more with the great Lee Van Cleef and the iconic soundtrack by Ennio Morroconi. I love the final shoot out scene at the end of " For a few Dollars more" one of my all time favourite movie scenes.

Both great films 

[Dickled]

I watched the first episode of "Marvellous Miniature Workshop" on BBC Iplayer.
It featured an abandoned library in Manchester, and the story of a lady who met her deceased husband there, many years before.
The aim was to recreate in miniature how the library once looked, to help the lady rekindle something of the past and the memories she had of her late husband.
It was stunning really, the level of artistry, dexterity and craftmanship displayed in creating how the interior of the library once looked, in miniature.
An added attraction was that the model maker, Hannah, was beautiful.

[Ghost89]

This weekend a couple of classic Clint Eastwood westerns on Sky arts. On Saturday " A fistfull of Dollars" then Sunday " For a few Dollars more with the great Lee Van Cleef and the iconic soundtrack by Ennio Morroconi. I love the final shoot out scene at the end of " For a few Dollars more" one of my all time favourite movie scenes.

Got all 3 of these out of my collection. The g,b and u has an extended version with footage that was newly dubbed by Eastwood and Eli Wallach.

[Ghost89]

I’m re/watching the Punisher. Jon Bernthal puts in an intense and extremely violent turn as Frank Castle. Great show and huge fan of the comic books.

[Punterperson1971]

Watched the rip on Netflix at the weekend very good film
And also watching mr inbetween an Aussie series or New Zealand(think it’s Australian though)quite good so far halfway through series 1

[ulstersubbie]

Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021). Firefighter ends up having to protect a young boy from a pair of assassins. Vapid, cliché ridden action thriller that feels interminably long, Angelina Jolie is hilariously miscast as the firefighter in question.  D

When Fall Is Coming (2024). The tense relationship between a retiree and her antagonistic daughter bring hidden secrets to the surface with fatal consequences. Another intriguing film from French auteur François Ozon, WIFC mixes mystery and drama to great effect, the writing and acting are of the highest quality. Stars Helene Vincent and Ludivine Sagnier.  A

Crazy Old Lady (2025). A man is asked to look after his ex girlfriend's senile mother and ends up walking into a nightmare. Psychological thriller from Argentina with darkly humorous undertones, COL largely succeeds due to veteran Spanish actress Carmen Maura in the lead role, she delivers a monster performance.  B+

[mr.bluesky]

A knight of the seven kingdoms- Sky Atlantic. A spin off series of " Game of Thrones". I read the book a long time ago so it will be interesting to see how true to the book this series will be. The prequel to Game of Thrones " House of the Dragon wasn't as good as GOT in my opinion . A knight of the seven kingdoms takes place a hundred years before Game of thrones. First episode was a bit slow but the series has potential to be good. It will be interesting to see how it develops.

[standardpostage]

Watched the rip on Netflix at the weekend very good film
And also watching mr inbetween an Aussie series or New Zealand(think it’s Australian though)quite good so far halfway through series 1

I enjoyed The Rip. Thought it was OK. 7.5 out of 10 from me. Action / crime / drama, with who is the snitch ? in the team. Stars Matt Damon.

Set in modern day USA. Lots of car crashes, shooting, fighting etc.

[Punterperson1971]

I enjoyed The Rip. Thought it was OK. 7.5 out of 10 from me. Action / crime / drama, with who is the snitch ? in the team. Stars Matt Damon.

Set in modern day USA. Lots of car crashes, shooting, fighting etc.

Yea I thought it was better than some of the films that have been on Netflix recently

[Jonestown]

Russian space Sci-FI Solaris (1972) on YouTube, challenging and at 2h 46m an endurance test. Uploaded by Mosfilm with no adverts, High quality for a film of that era. According to the comments it’s a masterpiece, one of the top ten films ever made, it’s got 43k likes. Not one I’ll be rushing back to.

[PilotMan]

@ulstersubbie - When Fall Is Coming (2024). Looked for it everywhere, couldn't find it. Then IMDB told me it's AKA "When Autumn Falls" - looks good, £3.49 to rent (48 hours) or £5.99 to buy on Amazon.

[ulstersubbie]

Russian space Sci-FI Solaris (1972) on YouTube, challenging and at 2h 46m an endurance test. Uploaded by Mosfilm with no adverts, High quality for a film of that era. According to the comments it’s a masterpiece, one of the top ten films ever made, it’s got 43k likes. Not one I’ll be rushing back to.

Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece requires patience and more than one viewing to really appreciate just what an exceptional film it is, Solaris is intellectual sci fi and one of the best examples of that particular genre. Sadly, most people are only aware of the Hollywood remake with George Clooney bah!!   

[ulstersubbie]

@ulstersubbie - When Fall Is Coming (2024). Looked for it everywhere, couldn't find it. Then IMDB told me it's AKA "When Autumn Falls" - looks good, £3.49 to rent (48 hours) or £5.99 to buy on Amazon.

Save your money Pilotman and head to Lookmovie2 where it's available for your viewing pleasure.   

[PilotMan]

Save your money Pilotman and head to Lookmovie2 where it's available for your viewing pleasure.   

Too late - I bought it 

I'm going to see "No Other Choice" it's on members Preview at Everyman tonight. It hasa 7.6 rating on IMDB - link here External Link/Members Only

[akauya]

Venus in Fur

A Roman Polanski's film based on a stage play. It's about a theatre director holding an audition, and the actress who shows up completely turns the tables on him. What starts as a normal casting session turns into this, tense BDSM power game between the two of them. The film is a play within a play and it all happens on the stage. Very good.

It's also on Lookmovie2


Edit: It's in French, so there are subtitles.

[PilotMan]

I'm going to see "No Other Choice" it's on members Preview at Everyman tonight. It hasa 7.6 rating on IMDB - link here External Link/Members Only

It was an interesting film, typical Korean style.

Some funny scenes, some comical violence. Stumbles and stutters at times.

6.5 / 10

Wait for it to come on TV or streaming.

[standardpostage]

A Prayer Before Dawn. Netflix. Drama  / thriller / prison / boxing / drugs / gritty. Set in Thailand. 2018 film. Stars Joe Cole.

9 out of 10.

[ulstersubbie]

Venus in Fur

A Roman Polanski's film based on a stage play. It's about a theatre director holding an audition, and the actress who shows up completely turns the tables on him. What starts as a normal casting session turns into this, tense BDSM power game between the two of them. The film is a play within a play and it all happens on the stage. Very good.

It's also on Lookmovie2


Edit: It's in French, so there are subtitles.

Interesting choice akauya, a return to form for Polanski in many ways and Emmanuelle Seigner is absolutely brilliant as the actress auditioning for the role. I must rewatch at some point.

[Jonestown]

A Prayer Before Dawn. Netflix. Drama  / thriller / prison / boxing / drugs / gritty. Set in Thailand. 2018 film. Stars Joe Cole.

9 out of 10.

You might want to check out, Only God Forgives (2013) with Ryan Gosling and Kristen Scott Thomas, similar thai based theme.

[advent2016]

Silo Apple TV.
Quite fun

External Link/Members Only)

[standardpostage]

You might want to check out, Only God Forgives (2013) with Ryan Gosling and Kristen Scott Thomas, similar thai based theme.

[Jonestown]

Chicago Overcoat (2009) 93 minutes, free on YouTube, nice little mob movie, nothing fancy but a solid watch.