Alien Covenant, completing watching all the Alien movies on Bluray. It was good, though obviously not as good as the first two movies, but there was some scares and gore.
I thought as a whole it was pretty mediocre but the medlab scene was one of the most intense scenes I ever saw at the cinema.
The Hitman's Bodyguard. This tries to be everything--a buddy comedy, an action film, a political thriller, even a rom-com. . .and it ends up being pretty much nothing. And for those who don't think Sam Jackson says "mother*****r" enough, this one's for you!
Finally saw Kingsmen: The Golden Circle last night.
Meh.
It's like the filmmakers had no idea what made the original film so popular. It's not awful, but terribly uninvolving. Too much CGI and jolly pop music in the fight scenes is no help whatsoever.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,509Chief of Staff
Finally saw Kingsmen: The Golden Circle last night.
Meh.
It's like the filmmakers had no idea what made the original film so popular. It's not awful, but terribly uninvolving. Too much CGI and jolly pop music in the fight scenes is no help whatsoever.
I watched this last night too...and my thoughts mirror your own -{
I think I represent the " Youth" of AJB007, and I loved it Lots of over the top silliness can't wait
to see the third film, with filming starting in January and talk of a TV series too
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I liked Kingsman 2, not necessarily better than the original, but I had less issues with it than the original, I guess I was now inoculated to the graphic zombie gore and unsubtle sex jokes and could enjoy it for what it was.
There were a lot of specific Bond references, starting with a shoe spike and an underwater car
and Julian Moore uses a gadget to give a minion a disgusting execution, and of course he same gadget reappears in the final battle in the villains headquarters … see, rival franchises kow how the stories are supposed to go, how come them Broccoli kids seem to have forgotten?
also Elton John himself delivers this film's variation on the princess-promise gag
Skyscraper :
I've read this was a bit of a flop so far at the box office, but I enjoyed it. It's a simple action flick
I went in not expecting too much, and was pleasantly surprised.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
This drama based on real events must be one of the best drama movies made last year. It's set during the riots in 1967. "Detroit" is superbly made by Kathryn Bigelow and also impressively acted, especially by Will Poulter and John Boyega. A must-see!
In the mood for some classic British Sci-fi. So watched
The Village of The Dammed and Quatermass 2. -{
Good choices. Have you seen the very odd semi-sequel to Village, Children of the Damned? It's more a reimagining of the same material into an anti-war parable. Also filled with great actors.
I don't think so Ianfryer, I'll search for it and give
It a try. -{ At the moment, I'm trying to source
Quatermass:The Conclusion. A TV short series
With Sir John Mills as the Professor. I haven't
Seen it since it was first shown ( mid 70s, I think )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I don't think so Ianfryer, I'll search for it and give
It a try. -{ At the moment, I'm trying to source
Quatermass:The Conclusion. A TV short series
With Sir John Mills as the Professor. I haven't
Seen it since it was first shown ( mid 70s, I think )
Hah! That takes me back. I wrote the booklet to an earlier DVD release of the John Mills Quatermass.
The Quatermass Conclusion is really the title of the movie-length single-part version of the film. The original mini-series is just called Quatermass.
We watched Hacksaw ridge yesterday it's a true story . My god if you like realism in war films this is the one to watch . I never thought they would top saving private Ryanfor realism . But this beats that hands down . The only way they can beat hacksaw ridge for realism , is if they now kill real people , but besides all that a great film
The first Exterminator film is an old favourite - one of the first movies my folks ever rented on Betamax. Years later, in the mid-1990s I wrote a magazine piece about director James Glickenhouse's Maniac Cop films and he was kind enough to write me a reply completely out of the blue - quite a thrill for a young writer, especially in the pre-e-mail era.
Eye in the Sky starring Helen Mirren among an excellent ensemble cast.
It's about the morality of drone warfare. There was another, American, film on this theme some time ago wasn't there? I forget the name.
Anyway, this is not so much a thriller - although its grip is relentless. Don't expect action scenes with lots of drones whizzing around on the attack. That said, there is one Bond-style gadget, a spy camera, that really should have been in the films a long time ago, I even thought it up myself around the time of Die Another Day, and that's going back a bit. In fact, the director would be good for Bond, he makes it like an action film though there is no action to speak of and the Govt ministers and chain of command is very convincing.
I say there is no action, it's more coitus interruptus as they have to decide whether to proceed with a drone attack on a terrorist stronghold or not, as various moral issues come into play, not to mention buck passing and the chain of command, as to whether they should proceed - Mirren's character in army uniform the one pressing for it.
It's more like a courtroom drama, really.
This is a proper grown up movie for adults, excellent support from Jeremy Northam (looking quite old suddenly and now much more plausible as a movie figure and character actor, in this case playing a Govt minister) and the late Alan Rickman who died soon after but on strong, commanding form here.
I would say, something I forgot to add, that in some ways it's not plausible that they would deliberate about the moral ramifications of their action. I mean, if drones kill innocent civilians I can't really believe anyone gets to hear about it anyway. It's a nice idea that there's all this considered approach, but I don't really buy it, esp as the more you find out about the State or rather State-affiliated bodies, the more you find how 'corrupt' they all are, corrupt in the sense that they are supremely adept at the cover up and lack of accountability. Local authorities are very good at this, but so is the NHS and, well, everyone really be it the Met or Surrey Police. Most scandals take a good 30 years to come to a head, if they ever do.
I'm going to see Mission: Impossible-Fallout this afternoon. Only problem is I'm really tired after a ten-hour work day plus two hours writing when I got home yesterday. And the seats at my local cinema are very, very comfortable...
I'm going to see Mission: Impossible-Fallout this afternoon. Only problem is I'm really tired after a ten-hour work day plus two hours writing when I got home yesterday. And the seats at my local cinema are very, very comfortable...
I don’t think you’ll fall asleep during this one Ian, there’s a whole lot going on throughout a whole lot of the movie -{
Just saw Fallout myself, and I found it a blast. To quibble, the plot can be hard to catch (make sure you listen to every line of dialogue) and a LOT of the action scenes seem to be inspired by Bond films--specifically, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, A View to a Kill, and The Living Daylights--but it's all done with such slam-bang aplomb that it's hard not to have a good time.
It's interesting. . .I hated the first, Brian Depalma-directed MI, which I found gave the middle finger to the great old TV series; and I found the second John Woo-directed MI a generic action picture. . .but starting with the third film, the series seems to have found its groove, with the right mix of characters and a sincere appreciation of the series. I wouldn't object to another film.
I really enjoyed Fallout - and stayed awake despite being really, really tired (long work days, writing and workouts have just about killed me right now).
One interesting piece of inspiration was from The Godfather - at one point when a character has to decide whether to shoot someone or not (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here) we hear an overhead railway line getting ever louder, a nice tip of the hat to a key scene in Coppola's classic.
I've quite taken to the first MI film over the years, after being a bit lukewarm about it at first. John Woo's direction of MI:2 is so stylised that I could never think of it as a generic action piece. I genuinely can't think of another film that looks anything like it (apart from shampoo commercials!). I do agree that a head of steam has built up since the third film, though, despite the series receiving no critical support at all. It's been quite amusing watching the critics try to catch up by larding praise on Fallout, much as it deserves it.
I've never gotten round to watching My Favourite Year, which I should remedy because it looks like great fun with a background in early television I'm just bound to like.
Kelly's Heroes is an old favourite I watched not long ago. Always loved it, though Eastwood always said that the studio cut a lot of material out of the film whch would have made it a more meaningful anti-war piece in the manner of MASH.
Comments
Meh.
It's like the filmmakers had no idea what made the original film so popular. It's not awful, but terribly uninvolving. Too much CGI and jolly pop music in the fight scenes is no help whatsoever.
I watched this last night too...and my thoughts mirror your own -{
to see the third film, with filming starting in January and talk of a TV series too
There were a lot of specific Bond references, starting with a shoe spike and an underwater car
and Julian Moore uses a gadget to give a minion a disgusting execution, and of course he same gadget reappears in the final battle in the villains headquarters … see, rival franchises kow how the stories are supposed to go, how come them Broccoli kids seem to have forgotten?
also Elton John himself delivers this film's variation on the princess-promise gag
I've read this was a bit of a flop so far at the box office, but I enjoyed it. It's a simple action flick
I went in not expecting too much, and was pleasantly surprised.
This drama based on real events must be one of the best drama movies made last year. It's set during the riots in 1967. "Detroit" is superbly made by Kathryn Bigelow and also impressively acted, especially by Will Poulter and John Boyega. A must-see!
The Village of The Dammed and Quatermass 2. -{
Good choices. Have you seen the very odd semi-sequel to Village, Children of the Damned? It's more a reimagining of the same material into an anti-war parable. Also filled with great actors.
It a try. -{ At the moment, I'm trying to source
Quatermass:The Conclusion. A TV short series
With Sir John Mills as the Professor. I haven't
Seen it since it was first shown ( mid 70s, I think )
Hah! That takes me back. I wrote the booklet to an earlier DVD release of the John Mills Quatermass.
The Quatermass Conclusion is really the title of the movie-length single-part version of the film. The original mini-series is just called Quatermass.
Here's a link to a newer release of the mini-series on DVD: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quatermass-DVD-John-Mills/dp/B0108KZO6G/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1534156805&sr=1-2&keywords=john+mills+quatermass
A BluRay is also available.
79 Quatermass, I fancied some 80s vigilante violence.
So watched The Exterminator 1 & 2 .
It's about the morality of drone warfare. There was another, American, film on this theme some time ago wasn't there? I forget the name.
Anyway, this is not so much a thriller - although its grip is relentless. Don't expect action scenes with lots of drones whizzing around on the attack. That said, there is one Bond-style gadget, a spy camera, that really should have been in the films a long time ago, I even thought it up myself around the time of Die Another Day, and that's going back a bit. In fact, the director would be good for Bond, he makes it like an action film though there is no action to speak of and the Govt ministers and chain of command is very convincing.
I say there is no action, it's more coitus interruptus as they have to decide whether to proceed with a drone attack on a terrorist stronghold or not, as various moral issues come into play, not to mention buck passing and the chain of command, as to whether they should proceed - Mirren's character in army uniform the one pressing for it.
It's more like a courtroom drama, really.
This is a proper grown up movie for adults, excellent support from Jeremy Northam (looking quite old suddenly and now much more plausible as a movie figure and character actor, in this case playing a Govt minister) and the late Alan Rickman who died soon after but on strong, commanding form here.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I don’t think you’ll fall asleep during this one Ian, there’s a whole lot going on throughout a whole lot of the movie -{
It's interesting. . .I hated the first, Brian Depalma-directed MI, which I found gave the middle finger to the great old TV series; and I found the second John Woo-directed MI a generic action picture. . .but starting with the third film, the series seems to have found its groove, with the right mix of characters and a sincere appreciation of the series. I wouldn't object to another film.
One interesting piece of inspiration was from The Godfather - at one point when a character has to decide whether to shoot someone or not (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here) we hear an overhead railway line getting ever louder, a nice tip of the hat to a key scene in Coppola's classic.
I've quite taken to the first MI film over the years, after being a bit lukewarm about it at first. John Woo's direction of MI:2 is so stylised that I could never think of it as a generic action piece. I genuinely can't think of another film that looks anything like it (apart from shampoo commercials!). I do agree that a head of steam has built up since the third film, though, despite the series receiving no critical support at all. It's been quite amusing watching the critics try to catch up by larding praise on Fallout, much as it deserves it.
Fun Bio pic, with Tom Cruise, as a pilot working for the
CIA in the early 80s. Highly recommend.
Kelly's Heroes is an old favourite I watched not long ago. Always loved it, though Eastwood always said that the studio cut a lot of material out of the film whch would have made it a more meaningful anti-war piece in the manner of MASH.