The last movie I saw was...

[LeMarchand]

My Dad's Christmas Date (Amazon Prime)

 

 

American Dad (Jeremy Piven) in York is struggling with bringing up his teenage daughter whilst still grieving for his dead wife. His daughter, meanwhile, decides that he needs a date...

 

Not the romp the trailer sells - yes, those bits are all present and correct, but this is primarily a meditation on grief. OK if you want to be brought down, I guess, but maybe that's the masculine perspective as the ladies of Château LeMarchand enjoyed it.

[Simcfc73]

Midnight Sky - Please... don't waste your time

[LeMarchand]

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Amazon Prime)

 

 

It seems that the real Santa wasn't as nicer as Coca Cola would have you believe, and now he's back...

 

Well worth a look. Maybe not out-and-out scary, but a nice sense of dread and a few jumps.

[LeMarchand]

The Midnight Sky (Netflix)

 

 

The seemingly only adult survivor of a global catastrophe races to warn a returning space mission to return to the colony they helped found.

 

Maybe not quite as bad as

 

Midnight Sky - Please... don't waste your time

 

for me - it was beautifully shot and reasonably moving - but the big dual revelation at the end was a cheat that didn't fit in with the way the film had been shot. (I'd thought about both points, but discarded them as unlikely). Also, it's basically "On the Beach" with a spaceship - it even features a brief clip from the 1959 film version and has Ethan Peck (Gregory's grandson) in it. Unless you fancy a real downer of a movie, I'd avoid, but if you are in the mood for something to bring you down you might appreciate this.

[6Foot2]

Link 1: https://twitter.com/SteveKite13/status/1345421795273433089 [Text Tweet]

 

I'm a nerd and I tracked every film I watched in 2020, so if anyone is interested, here it is:

 

Link 2: Films Watched by Year [Google Sheets]

 

The spreadsheet has 435 rows [at the the of posting]

 

Link 3: https://twitter.com/hcdascarey/status/1345814092406251520 [Twitter Thread]

 

every film i watched in 2021...

 

The thread has one tweet [at the time of posting]

[witch]

Mulan and Moana

The cartoon versions

 

Just as you'd think - a bit of fun, fairly harmless

[pooley]

Soul - Disney, loads of rave reviews, unfortunately it left us a bit flat and we gave up half way through.

 

Love and Monsters (Amazon) - A good watch, In a monster-infested world, Joel learns his girlfriend is just 85 miles away. To make the dangerous journey, Joel discovers his inner hero to be with the girl of his dreams. - End of the world type movie.

 

Boss Level - Groudhog day with violence - Entertaining!!

[Garacesh]

Hard Kill, on Netflix.

 

A computer scientist invents a true AI and wants to use it to save the world. Unfortunately, her idea of 'save the world' is very different to Mr. Big Bad Terrorist's.

 

I was lured in with the promise of Bruce Willis on the cover art. Do yourself a favour and don't bother wasting your time on this one.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Garacesh

[LeMarchand]

I was lured in with the promise of Bruce Willis on the cover art.

 

These days Bruce seems to appear in anything that will pay him a few bucks. Though he wasn't in...

 

Over the Moon (Netflix)

 

 

Worried that her widowed Dad is forgetting his love for her mum, 13 year old Fei Fei decides to build a craft to take her to the moon so that she she can prove the existence of the moon goddess Chang'e who has never stopped loving her lost lover despite centuries having passed.

 

Stunningly animated in the Earth-bound parts (the moon parts may induce a migraine) with the cutest animated bunny ever, this one is aimed squarely at the young 'uns; adults will have far too many questions. The trailer also obscures the fact that it's a musical. I didn't like any of the songs, which are mainly "Wicked" level screeching with a couple of diversions into chart "pop tart" style bounce arounds.

 

Possibly OK if watched with a child, but not "solo".

[Danp]

Watched Tag last night, stupid but I found it funny

[LeMarchand]

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sky Movies)

 

I suspect that this is one of those films where, because we went in with low expectations, it seemed much better than it probably is. It's not great art, but we enjoyed it. If you are in the "I'd like to see it, but reviews for it suck" camp, you may too.

[StevieM]

Kind Hearts and Coronets (MUBI, but no longer showing)

 

Classic Ealing black comedy (1949) starring Dennis Price as the son of a disowned aristocrat who works his way up the line of succession to Dukedom by murdering the 8 members of the D’Ascoyne family ahead of him (all played by Alec Guinness - including Lady D’Ascoyne!).

 

A work of pure genius!

 

By the way, MUBI currently has a ‘3 months for £1 offer’, if anyone is interested. You’ll have to be quick, though, as the offer expires at midnight tomorrow (Friday).

[Ditto]

Kind Hearts and Coronets (MUBI, but no longer showing)

 

Classic Ealing black comedy (1949) starring Dennis Price as the son of a disowned aristocrat who works his way up the line of succession to Dukedom by murdering the 8 members of the D’Ascoyne family ahead of him (all played by Alec Guinness - including Lady D’Ascoyne!).

 

A work of pure genius!

 

By the way, MUBI currently has a ‘3 months for £1 offer’, if anyone is interested. You’ll have to be quick, though, as the offer expires at midnight tomorrow (Friday).

It's tempting. I'm a bit unclear what it means about downloading and watching later and it only support Android and iOS. I have an amazon firestick, so I expect that's best, but could you explain what is possible. Where are the films stored and are they watchable after cancelling subscription?

[StevieM]

I usually just watch through a web browser. You can also use an iPad/Android app to download and watch offline, if you like, but only while the films are available on MUBI. For example, if a film is labelled as ‘Leaving in 3 days’, you won’t be able to watch it a week later even if you’ve downloaded it.

 

MUBI is great for exploring films you wouldn’t find on the more popular streaming sites (World Cinema, Arthouse, etc.). And 3 months for £1 is a bargain!

[LeMarchand]

Blithe Spirit (2020) Sky Movies

 

 

A struggling writer's wife is brought to earth during a seance and makes life a little bit awkward...

 

Not familiar with previous incarnations. This was pleasant enough, but I'd forgotten it by the next day.

 

Get Duked Amazon

 

TRAILER HAS NSFW LANGUAGE AND OTHER SCENES (and that's not even the red band version!)

 

 

Four young lads on their D of E find themselves hunted by the local gentry.

 

Trailer looked funny, but I didn't have overly high hopes for the film. Turned out to be quite a laugh, though. Worth a look if the trailer tickled your funnybone.

[6Foot2]

The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2.

 

Denzel Washington in the lead role, not Edward Woodward. They were better than I anticipated, and I will watch them again at some time (a measure of how much I liked them)

 

[DalekSec]

 

Went to my first ever film premier yesterday.... well kinda. My old man being a high up glorified grave digger (Sorry, Archaeologist) got an invite to the premier of 'The Dig', but cus of covid it was streamed meaning i got to watch in on it!

 

Anyway brief film review:

 

First thing to note it's based on a novel thats based on the Sutton Hoo dig so it's not 100% factual. But apart from that it's very good and has great character dynamics between the cast. Some great whitty one liners, you will laugh and cry! Well i did, and for a dalek with no sense of emotion other than hate that's a mighty fine achievement!

[LeMarchand]

SuperIntelligence

 

So-so comedy with Melissa McCarthy as an "average woman" picked for study by an AI voiced by James Corden. Depending on what the AI discovers about humanity, our race be wiped out, enslaved or saved after three days. Film sponsored by Microsoft. (Judging by how heavily they feature).

[Ditto]

Movie night with the kids continued. Mrs Ditto selected Ocean's Eleven. Kids put it in the 'OK' category. I'd go slightly higher, but about right, but they stayed for the course which is the best measure. Previous week we watched Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters having seen the Lightning Thief previously. We all thought the Sea of Monsters was excellent and perhaps surpassed the first in the series. Rick Riordan's books have taught my son more about Greek mythology than I ever knew!

 

I'm thinking about the original Michael Caine version of The Italian Job next. It's been a long time since I watched that but if I recall, the subtle comedy and high paced action could be a winner?

[sparkeh]

mrs_sparkeh chose Ocean’s 8 the other night. I enjoyed it but thought the heist was unnecessarily complicated which kinda annoyed me a bit. Also the “best in the business” guards protecting the necklace that was the target appeared to be complete blockheads. [emoji23]

 

We also watched “Breaking In” which was a treat from start to finish. Would recommend to anyone!

[FN-GM]

Ghostbusters. First time I have seen it! I watched with with my girlfriends 7 year old nephew.

[sonofsanta]

Rick Riordan's books have taught my son more about Greek mythology than I ever knew!

 

In contrast to certain other YA authors, Rick Riordan is also using his fame and clout for undoubted good, setting up a publishing label dedicated to elevating underrepresented voices and doing his best to support trans kids instead of, y'know, what the other one is spending her time and wealth on. He's a good 'un.

 

Lovely Wife and I started watching Locked Down with Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but even as we pressed play we said "two hours? Seems a bit much for a romcom, what's wrong with films being 1h40 like in the old days" and lo and behold, the opening went on at least 20 self-indulgent minutes too long, and we gave up before they'd even left the flat to start the heist. Shame.

 

[jmak]

In contrast to certain other YA authors, Rick Riordan is also using his fame and clout for undoubted good, setting up a publishing label dedicated to elevating underrepresented voices and doing his best to support trans kids instead of, y'know, what the other one is spending her time and wealth on. He's a good 'un.

 

Lovely Wife and I started watching Locked Down with Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but even as we pressed play we said "two hours? Seems a bit much for a romcom, what's wrong with films being 1h40 like in the old days" and lo and behold, the opening went on at least 20 self-indulgent minutes too long, and we gave up before they'd even left the flat to start the heist. Shame.

 

Who thought that a lock down could feel like it went on too long....

[LeMarchand]

Lovely Wife and I started watching Locked Down with Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but even as we pressed play we said "two hours? Seems a bit much for a romcom, what's wrong with films being 1h40 like in the old days" and lo and behold, the opening went on at least 20 self-indulgent minutes too long, and we gave up before they'd even left the flat to start the heist. Shame.

 

I'm sick of seeing things about how awful it is being stuck in your rather nice home during lockdown. Chewie, if you want to come and work in a germ factory while I swan around with Anne, feel free to swap.

 

P.S. Only seen the trailer, so maybe it's not as it looks therein.

 

P.P.S. Seen some horrifyingly racist comments on this film somewhere else.

[StevieM]

I watched a couple of films on MUBI last week:

 

Once Upon a Time in America - Sergio Leone's final film follows a career criminal (Robert De Niro, mostly) from his childhood beginnings through to his return from retirement. I really enjoyed this and it certainly felt shorter than the almost 3hr run-time. Dating from 1984, it was strange seeing De Niro made up with prosthetics to age him, yet still make him look younger than he does now in real life.

 

The Straight Story - Based on the true story of an elderly man who, after his estranged brother suffered a stroke, decided it was time to make amends. Being unable to drive a car, he made the long journey from Iowa to Winsconsin...on a lawnmower! Directed by David Lynch (Twin Peaks) and released by Disney (eh?!), it had it's moments but some of the exaggerated characters annoyed me, particularly Sissy Spacek's role as the autistic daughter. That said the almost wordless ending, featuring an astonishing performance from Harry Dean Stanton, was cinematic perfection.