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Films watched in 2020


Raylenth
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20 hours ago, Raylenth said:

The Monuments Men.  I really enjoyed this, it's a long film but it you don't really notice the time as the story flowed quite well.

I also re watched this recently it was much better than I remembered it being well worth another watch

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23 hours ago, mark worton said:

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I'd forgotten how bad the acting was in this 

 

Kevin Costner got a bit of flack I remember for being (the latest) Robin Hood actor NOT to do an English accent which was later poked fun at below in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) which was a far more enjoyable film than Costner's version. He was the biggest star in Hollywood around then and frequently collaborated with director Kevin Reynolds which probably helped him get cast despite his accent. The two fell-out though after Water World (1995) I think.

Bryan Adams hit,' "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" was the most enduring thing to come from the film. Olds like me remember when it was no. 1 for about 16 weeks (back when we physically bought singles and the UK top 40 was a thing). :crying:

 

 

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4 hours ago, Raylenth said:

Bridge Of Spies.   I really enjoyed this, it's another long film with a slow plot but again you don't really notice the time passing.  I admit I got a bit lip wobbly at the end.

Mark Rylance thoroughly deserving of his Oscar for that movie. Brilliant performance. His accent is spot on, he gets the subtlety of the Scottish borders accurate.

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BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (2020)
4.5/5 (No spoilers)

It was a refreshing relief that Micheal Bay was vacating the director's chair this time after the original and mediocre BAD BOYS (1995) and the mindless  BAD BOYS II (2003). In Bay's place we have two Belgian guys, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah who do a surprisingly great job at resurrecting the series. BAD BOYS FOR LIFE is easily the best of the three films and one of the most entertaining action/cop movies I've seen in a while. I really liked it!

The script is a lot more character and plot driven than the previous entries and THAT'S how it should be. We've had 25 years to invest in these characters and the writers really use that to their advantage to make this a more personal and drama-focused story - this plot wouldn't have worked if it was the first film of the series. Hiring Joe Carnahan (THE GREY, NARC, THE A-TEAM) to co-write the script with his macho style had my attention as soon as he was on-board. 

Martin Lawrence (Marcus) is a lot funnier in this film than before and he goes through some interesting character changes. However, its a shame he couldn't hit the gym before filming but maybe he wanted to look the part of a cop on the edge of retirement. Will Smith (Mike) also acts older too and almost over-shadows his counterpart a little too much but that's the way of the plot. Some might groan at the tired twist in the 3rd act but its handled quite well, my only complaint is that the writers didn't do their homework and get the chronology and history of Mike & Marcus right by simply re-watching the first film which results in a continuity problem. Even Mike's love interest/Marcus's sister (Gabrielle Union) from BAD BOYS II isn't mentioned in this film either and Joe Pantoliano as the police captain also seems to act a lot nicer and less angry at Mike & Marcus than before.

The movie has an open-ending so it will be interesting to see what comes next. Hopefully we won't have to wait so long for the next film and that Micheal Bay will sit this one out again.

Edited by nicky
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THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986)
2/5 (Mild spoilers)

It's been 20 years since I first saw this sequel and after revisting it I can now put my finger on why I don't like it. It should've been a bigger, glossier popcorn version of the original gritty 1974 film, and that's what you'd expect from action/B-movie churners Cannon Films, but instead we get director Tobe Hooper going all weird on us - did producers Golan/Globus not keep an eye on him during production?! Why would Cannon Films who are so conscious about spending money allow Hooper free-reign?  

Remember that disappointment you felt when you first saw ROBOCOP 2 (1990) and how different it was from the first film because of the change in tone and added humour? Or imagine The Cohen Brothers (on drugs). That's what you kinda get with THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2.

Hooper claimed he wanted to inject more black-humour into this sequel cos he didn't think people got it in the first film. But the 'black-humour' he puts in this film is just so wacky I'm not sure you can even call it that. It's a hard film to watch and all for the wrong reasons and is more like a parody of the original film. There are some really odd scenes (chainsaw between legs) and even odder lines of dialogue ("how good are you?") which seem so...random. Dennis Hopper is really weird in this too and irritatingly unlikable as he goes full-panto mode spending the latter half of the film just shouting to himself like a loon. Caroline Williams as the heroine also can't stop screaming. Bill Moseley and Bill Johnson on the other hand give great characterful performances as 'Chop-Top' and 'Leatherface' and are probably the only reason to enjoy the film. Moseley particularly goes quite OTT with his improvisations and has such deliciously quotable lines (funk-metal band Primus sampled, "Doooog will hunt!").

Plot-wise its a bit thin and could have probably dealt with a good 20 mins shaved-off as the build-up is so slow. Its not scary either although some of Tom Savini's gore effects are pretty good and I liked the 80s soundtrack and it's nicely lit. The film has a cult following so it must have some appeal; I can see the off-the-wall-wackiness  probably grows on you after repeated viewings but a film should never have to make you do that to appreciate it.

Edited by nicky
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Solace.  On the whole it was OK, and it has a good cast.  Anthony Hopkins is a man with psychic abilities who's asked to help the FBI catch a serial killer.  it's a bit messy in places, a bit cliched, but it was watchable.

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The Third Murder - A man kills his ex-boss and confesses to his murder. A lawyer tries to work out how he can get the conviction down from the death penalty to a prison sentence. But why did he do it? Did he have a valid reason? Is he perhaps a good person? Is he actually a really bad person? Did he even commit the crime in the first place? Why does his story keep changing? Hirokazu Kore-eda gives you the answer to none of these questions and more in another excellent film.

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Hidden Figures.  That was a really enjoyable film and definitely a recommended watch.  They have taken some liberties with the story but on the whole it's apparently fairly accurate and I think a deserved acknowledgement of what the women did for history and the space race.

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A Monster Calls - Probably not one of my better ideas to watch this. Not that this is a bad film. Far from it. An interesting take on some heartfelt issues - terminal illness and bullying. Good CGI. Star turns from Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones and an unrecognisable Liam Neeson. Major credit though to Lewis MacDougall as Conor who more than holds his own against established stars to give a wonderful performance. The only issue - too much of a tearjerker to watch in the present climate. But I remembered to gel my hands before reaching for the box of super soft tissues.

Overall 10/10.

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Falling Down (1992)

Hadn't seen this since it first came out and the Michael Douglas character was less sympathetic than I had remembered, but still a great film. For Simpsons fans, the lead character "D-FENS" was the inspiration for Frank Grimes ("Homer's Enemy").

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EXTRACTION (2020)
4/5* (No spoilers)
 
OK, I'll be generous cos the "John Wick-style" action and simplicity of the story made-up for everything else. Netflix films and features directed by stunt guys or 2nd unit have always raised alarms bells for me so I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this film despite the predictability and obvious White Saviour template (Chris Hemsworth being as White as you can get) among others things.
 
EXTRACTION thankfully keeps things old skool while never trying to be too clever or ashamed about what it is; it's just a straight-forward action romp but at the same time that's one of the script's flaws. You have a man (Hemsworth) and a kid (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) at the centre of the story so you naturally expect there to be some kind of heart to the script but sadly its not as big a heart as it thinks it is which is a huge missed opportunity for a stunt-guy-turned-director (Sam Hargrave) wanting to prove himself. The 'bond' between the two leads doesn't justify the teary ending and the core emotional beat halfway through doesn't land because not enough has happened between them besides dodging bullets.
 
Hemsworth's character is a cliche; a hero with a death wish suffering from personal loss. Think LETHAL WEAPON (1987), END OF DAYS (1999) and GLADIATOR (2000). The cliche is fine IF done right but here it feels 2nd rate and purely *incidental* written-in only as an obvious attempt to flesh-out the character and win sympathy from viewers. The film could easily have been the same story without this archytype (only dumber).
 
As far as kidnapping films go though there is a really nice twist which I'm surprised hasn't been thought of before. Not only this but we get an almost scene-stealing supporting character (played by Randeep Hooda) who we find much more about and care for more than either of the two leads put together. It's also amazingly refreshing to see an Indian action-man in such a mainstream movie. If Joe Russo (writer) put the same amount of care into the other players we'd have a much more rounded film but instead we get a film with a fairly rushed loose-ending.
 
On a final note, I applaud the producers for giving us a new face and not taking a short-cut by adopting the typical lazy Hollywood-casting choice and just giving us Dev Patel to play the kid (just cos he's the only experienced brown actor they could think of). I know he's 30 but that didn't stop Harry Potter's Katie Leung playing a school-girl in THE FOREIGNER (2017) for just five bloody minutes.
Edited by nicky
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Susan Hill's Ghost Story  - A TV film adaptation of The Small Hand. I am a big fan of ghost stories if they are done well and this is done well. Douglas Henshall is marvellous as Adam ably supported by a strong but small cast. This was atmospherically creepy with an unexpected twist at the end. For me easily as good as The Woman in Black. 

Overall 10/10

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