The last movie I saw was...

[LeMarchand]

A Monster Calls

 

 

A young boy whose mother is dying of cancer meets a monster who strikes a deal with him.

 

This is still a wonderful film, though not as fantastical as the trailer suggests (as I'm sure most of you worked out). You may find that the room gets dusty and causes eye irritation during the film.

[CAWJames]

John Wick 3, had it on Plex for ages, finally sat down to watch it. gratuitous turn your brain off action, forget KR is rather podgy these days, and enjoy. Also who cares if the plot is a little thin when Lovejoy is involved!

[LeMarchand]

Also who cares if the plot is a little thin when Lovejoy is involved!

 

WARNING: Do not apply this rule to Hellboy (2019)

[LeMarchand]

My Spy

 

 

After a botched mission CIA agent JJ (Dave Bautista) is busted down to surveillance, but things go south when he is made by a young girl who wants him to train her.

 

Looks live Dave Bautista has gone swiftly to the "Kindergarten Cop" stage of the "movie muscle man" career arc. The film is actually quite fun, but nothing you've not seen before. I was quite surprised by Bautista's acting as he seemed quite good in Blade Runner 2047 and not so good in this. Maybe he needs more of an "actor's director"? He's back with Villeneuve in Dune, so i guess we'll see.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

 

 

A genuinely excellent DC movie!

 

Bags of fun, plenty violent, loads of little easter eggs.

 

Loved it.

[LeMarchand]

Alita: Battle Angel

 

 

 

Didn't bother with this one at the cinema as the trailers made it look as if it was another "cool cgi/action, lacking in story" flick. Turns out that the first part was true, but it did have an engaging story and characters. A bit disappointed that this did so badly that the proposed sequels are unlikely to happen - I'd rather see those than more Avatar films. Worth a look if the trailer left you curious

[CAWJames]

Birds of Prey, or the emanci...yada yada yada. What a load of ****

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Really?

 

I genuinely think it's be best DC film by miles.

[CAWJames]

Really?

 

I genuinely think it's be best DC film by miles.

 

I didn't enjoy it, I thought the plot was all over the place(which is sometimes not a bad thing), and it just seemed like a convoluted vehicle to introduce a new franchise using established characters to sell it.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I didn't enjoy it, I thought the plot was all over the place(which is sometimes not a bad thing), and it just seemed like a convoluted vehicle to introduce a new franchise using established characters to sell it.

I'd be surprised if they do another Birds of Prey movie, it was just a vehicle to tell a version of the Harley and Joker break up story without using Batman and Joker. There will likely be another Harley film, though. Robbie plays her superbly.

[LeMarchand]

Snowpiercer

 

 

The world is frozen and the only survivors are stuck in a rigid class system on a train that constantly circles the globe.

 

Finally got around to watching this (just before the show starts). The science/central concept doesn't make a lot of sense (nor the way some characters behave), and I guessed what was going to be revealed at the front after the second carriage or so, but otherwise this is a great movie that gives you plenty to think about. Might be a bit violent and bleak for some, though.

[LeMarchand]

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

 

 

A genuinely excellent DC movie!

 

Bags of fun, plenty violent, loads of little easter eggs.

 

Loved it.

 

Birds of Prey, or the emanci...yada yada yada. What a load of ****

 

 

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to side with @CAWJames on this one (no more cheap PCs for me! ). It's not often that I think "what a waste of the studio's money that film was"; I'm slightly annoyed I "wasted" a free rental on it. The cast were fine, but the structure was too self-consciously wacky and while poor Mary Elizabeth Winstead's costume peeps had got the "no overtly sexy clothes" memo and dressed her in what looked like a nylon boiler suit, most of the other ladies' costumes were still fairly revealing and/or tight. Plus blaring music until the big fight at the end, when they muted it just as it would've been appropriate.

 

I'm wondering if the director was a bit out of her depth and DC's support for "new" directors isn't as robust as Marvel's seems to be.

[pooley]

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to side with @CAWJames on this one (no more cheap PCs for me! ). It's not often that I think "what a waste of the studio's money that film was"; I'm slightly annoyed I "wasted" a free rental on it. The cast were fine, but the structure was too self-consciously wacky and while poor Mary Elizabeth Winstead's costume peeps had got the "no overtly sexy clothes" memo and dressed her in what looked like a nylon boiler suit, most of the other ladies' costumes were still fairly revealing and/or tight. Plus blaring music until the big fight at the end, when they muted it just as it would've been appropriate.

 

I'm wondering if the director was a bit out of her depth and DC's support for "new" directors isn't as robust as Marvel's seems to be.

 

Agreed, it was sh*t

[LeMarchand]

Stuber

 

 

Left temporarily partially sighted after Lasic surgery cop Dave Bautista takes an Uber to track down his nemesis.

 

Not quite as shouty/screechy as the trailer would suggest, this was enjoyed by all at Château LeMarchand. Members of the Edugeek group "Future Husbands of Karen Gillan" will be pleased to see her name in the credits, but will guess her role approximately 2 seconds after her on-screen appearance near the start of the film.

[JATSO]

Snowpiercer

 

 

The world is frozen and the only survivors are stuck in a rigid class system on a train that constantly circles the globe.

 

Finally got around to watching this (just before the show starts). The science/central concept doesn't make a lot of sense (nor the way some characters behave), and I guessed what was going to be revealed at the front after the second carriage or so, but otherwise this is a great movie that gives you plenty to think about. Might be a bit violent and bleak for some, though.

 

Watched the film, it is quite gruesome, putting the upper class, middle class and working class in their places, on a train of all places that is never late, doesn't break down because the working class are propping it up as usual.

Will the show be any good?

[LeMarchand]

Watched the film, it is quite gruesome, putting the upper class, middle class and working class in their places, on a train of all places that is never late, doesn't break down because the working class are propping it up as usual.

Will the show be any good?

 

Reviews seem mixed, but generally OK. Was going to start in on it soon, but Agents of SHIELD is back, so not sure which one to spend the available watching slot on. (Mme LeMarchand not keen on either).

 

Last movie I saw was: Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

 

 

Dora is now a teenager and has been sent to school in LA(?), but when her parents go missing it's up to her to rescue them.

 

Not watched the kid's cartoon, which seems to be written off in the opening sequence as youthful play adventures - so no talking map or backpack and while Boots the monkey is CGI and acts like he knows what's going on, he doesn't speak and there's no thieving fox ...at first. The film plays pretty straight for a comedy kids' film until the bad guys turn up with Swiper the fox as their henchfox and most of the adult audience start to wonder wth is going on. He then disappears apart from a couple of sequences and the film heads back into tween Indiana Jones territory apart from a sequence involving hallucinogenic plant life causing the affected cast to imagine they are their cartoon counterparts.

 

When it's not digressing into wth-ery it's a tolerable enough adventure for the younger ones, who will probably be more accepting of what adult viewers are going to be a lot more questioning of. Isabela Moner/Mecred as Dora is impossibly perky and convincing as someone a few years younger than she actually is. OK, but best watched with kids or lots of booze.

[LeMarchand]

Angel Has Fallen

 

Gerard Butler has to save the prez yet again. The twist this time is that he's being hunted by his own team, who think he's the bad guy and is trying to kill POTUS.

 

OK "brain off" action flick that is at least not as offensive as London Has Fallen (where terrorists seemed to have taken over the entire UK Army, Police, Fire Service etc etc). The central premise what a bit hard to swallow - no-one ever says, "why would the guy who has saved the prez so many times gone rogue?" and various lines of dialogue make it sound as if this is the same president that featured in the first 2 films. I had to check the character names to confirm that Morgan Freeman wasn't the ultimate colour-blind recast for Aaron Eckhart.

[LeMarchand]

Yesterday

 

 

 

After a blackout wipes The Beatles (and a few other things) from history, unsuccessful singer/songwriter Jack sees his chance for fame and glory. But what will it cost him?

 

Warm romcom with some touching moments. Worth a look if the trailer intrigues, but be warned that there are thing harder to believe than a magic blackout "disappearing" The Beatles (such as Jack having failed to notice that Lily James has been carrying a torch for him for years. Ed Sheeran is surprisingly game for sending himself up again.

[CAWJames]

The Lost City of Z, a tale set in the early 1900's around the Boer War and the First World War about the mapping of Bolivia and the discovery of artifacts that could lead to a lost civilization/city in the rain forest. It wasn't bad, all in all. Based on a true story and spanning around 30 years, few years old now but a good role for Charlie Hunman, post SoA and Pre King Arthur

[unixman_again]

Blue Water, White Death - was in Port Lincoln when they were filming it and I remember seeing the boat with the shark cages, and saying "Hello" to Valerie Taylor.

[CHiLL]

Midsommar - 5/10

I don't usually do horror films, but a podcast I've been listening to were going to discuss this (along with Hereditary, which I also haven't seen). I didn't particularly like Midsommar, though I do think Florence Pugh is an excellent actor. It was an OK film with some messed up themes, it just didn't tick my boxes.

[LeMarchand]

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

 

Direct sequel to Maleficent sees Aurora get engaged to Prince not-the-same-actor and Maleficent get miffed. It turns out that Maleficent was right for the wrong reasons, as a plot is afoot to destroy the Fae for plot reasons.

 

I'm surprised no-one reported this to Trade Descriptions as it really should've been called Maleficent: Mistress of Misunderstood or maybe Aurora: Princess of Insipid. It's a sumptuous film, but doesn't really grip. A surprising amount of Fae are killed, though no humans were harmed in the making of this movie - presumably to keep the certificate low. Still, I wasn't bored or thinking "that was a waste of time".

[CAWJames]

Artemis Fowl, watched it with OH and her 11 yo on Saturday night. We all actually enjoyed it, although its a bit light on the original source material, and obviously compressed into a film format. I remember reading the books many moons ago when they came out in the early 2000's. Definitely set up for a series of film, but critics have panned it and release on D+ and not theatrical will probably kill it dead, as not sure how they will recoup 125 mil!!

[mavhc]

Midsommar - 5/10

I don't usually do horror films, but a podcast I've been listening to were going to discuss this (along with Hereditary, which I also haven't seen). I didn't particularly like Midsommar, though I do think Florence Pugh is an excellent actor. It was an OK film with some messed up themes, it just didn't tick my boxes.

 

Revenge is a dish best served wearing a massive load of flowers

[LeMarchand]

SongbirdAKA Alright Now. Mainly improvised comedy (I use the term lightly) starring Cobie Smulders as the American lead singer of a semi-successful Britpop band. When the band gets sick of playing dead-end venues and split, she enrols in a university.

 

If you enjoy this sort of cringe-making comedy, you may like this. If it hadn't starred Ms Smulders, i would probably rather have listened to Oasis drone on for its mercifully brief running time.