Needed to have an early night. Then spot The Dead Zone is starting and an hour later still watching. Havent seen this film in like 20 years. Great film by Cronenberg, if only bcos i remember watching it in my teens and thinking it was brilliant.
I think i may have mentioned The Good the bad and the weird on this thread Mo. I am sure i put it in my list of favourite foreign language thread. I though it was excellent. I have seen some of the movies you have mentioned and i will check out the others. I have been hooked on oriental films for years now. Especially Wuxia films and Japanese horror. I do like a good Korean movie though. The seem to have a special kind of mentalness.
The Martian. Had its moments, where you went "ah clever" but those were rare. Mostly run of the mill and I wont be watching it again. Disappointing considering the cast as well.
Put on Trading Places last night, after about 20 years i think. Pretty sure it was uncut and had scenes werent there before. What a brilliant film. Work of genius and perfectly cast. Eddie Murphy used to be so funny.
Sicario Very good thriller starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. Blunt is an FBI swat agent drafted into a "special unit" out to reek havoc on a Mexican drugs cartel. As the op gets blacker and blacker she battles with the morality and legality of it all. Blunt is excellent as is Josh Brolin, a dodgy "private contractor" brought in to run the team. Del Toro steals the show though. Really would recommend this if only to see an actor his peak. 8/10
Apocalypto last night on Film 4. Seen this before, it's a very clever film imo. Also any film that can keep you hooked for two and a half hours throughout deserves a mention.
Bridge of spies Based on the real events surrounding the cold war spy swap of Rudolph Able and U 2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. Tom Hanks plays lawyer James B Donovan who defended Able during his trial and subsequently arranged for him to be returned to the USSR in exchange for Powers. Excellent story brought to life by Spielberg and ably assisted by a very good cast. Hanks is his usual immaculate self as a lawyer who finds himself landed with a client no one else will touch with a bargepole and then thrust into the world of cold war espionage, way out of his depth and unable to believe the madness of both sides. Written by the Coen brothers, they capture the farce and gravity of the situation perfectly. It's really is a bit of cinematic dream team, Spielberg/Coen brothers and they all do a fine job. 8/10. P.S. Did a wee bit of googling about James B Donovan and he seems to have had a very interesting life. He was a prosecuter at Nuremburg and also went on to negotiate the releaseof prisoners from Castro's Cuba after the bay of pigs. Perhaps a sequal is on the cards.
Escobar: Paradise Lost 7/10 Film about a Canadian surfer falling in love with a girl who just so happens to be Pablo Escobar's niece.
Me,Earl and the dying girl A surprisingly good low budget teen film. Good cast and script means a funny and thoughtful outcome. One to watch with the missus. 7/10 Kajaki; The true story. For those who think that war is heroic and all daring do. You don't wan't to watch this film. It tells the true story of the men of 3 Para and the day they found themselves stuck in the middle of a Russian minefield in Helmand province. It does a very good job of telling the story of what it's like in places like this for the soldiery. Long spells of tedium interspersed with small doses of horror and lunacy. It pulls no punches, highlighting the ridiculous situation of men, stuck in the middle of nowhere with comms that are akin to two cans and a bit of string. It also shows the lengths those men will go to help each other when the **** hits the fan. A really good attempt at showing the real Afghanistan at it's very worst. 8/10
David and Goliath Dear readers I have just sat through the worst film ever made. This film makes Plan 9 from outer space look like Close encounters. It is so bad it's ****ing brilliant. You all know the story. Wee Dave smacks the giant in the peeper and wins the day. The hero of our story in this film a ginga ninja who looks as if he has been standing in Goliaths shadow for most of his life. I ended up feeling sorry for the lad having to stand in the hot sun for so long. Hope he was using some heavy sunscreen. The Philistines are the bad guys. You know they are the bad guys because they are awe dressed in black. This includes copius amounts of eyeliner.Amounts not seen since the death of silent movies. Still at least you know when to boo and hiss. Goliath is a monster. He must be at least.....5'10". He tends to stand uphill throughout the piece though which gives him the auror of almost giantness. Or mibbe nearly bigness. Honestly, you really need to see this to believe it. 1/10 the 1 is for comedy value.
Yeah, I thought it was decent, too. Very gung-ho, God Bless America, Land of the Free but I suppose that's the Yanks for you so it was pretty realistic. I was shocked by the ending - I didn't realise he's Father Ted.