The last movie I saw was...

[LeMarchand]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Amazon Prime)

 

Recorded this ages ago but couldn't play it as the channel no longer exists on Virgin - kinda defeats the point of "recording" shows!

 

Anyway, whilst I didn't feel it lived up to the hype, it was a solid film with some great animation.

 

Thor: Love and Thunder (Cinema)

 

Mid-level Marvel. Funny, well made, and with some great moments but nowhere near top tier.

[LeMarchand]

The Gray Man (Netflix)

 

 

When he is targeted by the CIA, who suspect him of having damaging information, Court Gentry must go on the run.

 

Enjoyable if forgettable actioner which ladies of the house both loved. Chris Evans has fun as the bad guy and it all looks expensive. Turn your brain off before watching, though.

[6Foot2]

The Cobbler (Amazon Prime, 2014)

 

The titular cobbler, Max Simkin, (Adam Sandler) is bored with his lot in life, but he makes an extraordinary discovery that changes everything...

[LeMarchand]

Started watching The Legend of the Ancient Sword, a Chinese fantasy with steampunk elements starring Archie Kao from CSI and directed by Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2, The Deep Blue Sea) but gave up after an interminable opening fight scene. Wasn't helped by tiny white subtitles when some of the main cast had white robes.

 

Went for The Man from Toronto (Netflix) instead. Kevin Hart stars as a fairly useless guy whose plans never work out. One day he gets mistaken for the eponymous legendary torturer/hitman (Woody Harrelson) and, due to plot reasons, must carry on the charade. Completely predictable, but at least Mme LeMarchand stayed awake.

[LeMarchand]

Started watching The Legend of the Ancient Sword, a Chinese fantasy with steampunk elements starring Archie Kao from CSI and directed by Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2, The Deep Blue Sea) but gave up after an interminable opening fight scene. Wasn't helped by tiny white subtitles when some of the main cast had white robes.

 

Finished this. The format made a bit more sense when I learned it was based on a game. Some lovely sets, but not worth watching just for lovely sets.

[LeMarchand]

Wedding Season (Netflix)

 

This year's (quarters?) variant on the "couple pretend to be dating to stop family/friends nagging but fall in love" romcom plot. The USP with this one is that it's set in the Hindu community in New York during the "wedding season", which also includes Hindu-American, -Jewish and -Muslim weddings.

 

Totally predictable, and a bit light on the "com" - it's more smiles than laughs - but sweet enough if you watch the genre. Nice to see Rizwan Manji ("Outsourced", "The Magicians") playing something other than "obsequious". Also, I never realised that star Suraj Sharma, who I know from "God Friended Me" and "How I Met Your Father" was the kid from "Life of Pi" until last night.

[Simcfc73]

Just finished PREY... much better than I anticipated as I went in with low expectations which helps.

 

I'd actually didn't seem stupid that she took on a predator in the context.

[LeMarchand]

The Princess (Disney+)

 

 

After she refuses an arranged marriage, a young princess must somehow defeat the forces of her spurned would-be husband and rescue her family.

 

Pretty much "Die Hard in a medieval castle", this isn't as much fun as the trailer makes it look - mainly because pretty much all the non-"fight" scenes are in the trailer. Fairly entertaining, but could have done with a bit more depth. This was a Hulu production, so the violence levels were surprisingly high for something on Disney.

[LeMarchand]

Onward (Disney+)

 

In a world where technology has all but removed the need for magic, two elf brothers go on a quest to enable them to talk to their dead father.

 

Was interested in this on release, but IIRC that was when Lockdown hit. It's OK, but pretty paint-by-numbers. Plus Mum's feelings for her husband were pretty much ignored.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Onward (Disney+)

 

In a world where technology has all but removed the need for magic, two elf brothers go on a quest to enable them to talk to their dead father.

 

Was interested in this on release, but IIRC that was when Lockdown hit. It's OK, but pretty paint-by-numbers. Plus Mum's feelings for her husband were pretty much ignored.

 

Onward is a brilliant film! Suitably heart-wrenching in all the right places and full of wonderful dungeons and dragons references.

My kids loved it, I loved it and my wife loved it despite tearing up several times.

 

As for the mother's feelings, it's a Disney film told from the point of view of a child. Whilst there would definitely be a story there, this was not the film to explore it.

[LeMarchand]

Sorry! Just didn't do it for me. Might be because I never had that sort of relationship with my father. I also felt the brothers came across more like young adults than kids, so they should have had thought about their mum.

[LeMarchand]

Love & Gelato (Netflix)

 

 

A young American woman goes to Italy to fulfil a promise made to her late mother. While there she finds love, the truth about her father, and... gelato.

 

If you've read the young adult book this is based on (I haven't), you will probably be outraged by changes made. Otherwise, it's a sweet and not quite totally predictable "romance in a beautiful setting" movie. Plus points for the inevitable love triangle's conclusion not going the usual way, and for the mainly Italian cast mainly speaking Italian amongst themselves. Plus the gorgeous scenery.

[zedster]

Watched Bullet Train -

 

I'm sure it says more about me than the film, but aside from the action, etc. it was just funny. Great cast, great acting (mostly) and just an all round good movie. But not for everyone. On the warning screen, some bloody violence was mentioned.... They may have understated the some and bloody aspects!

[Dos_Box]

Went to see Nope with my son last night at the IMAX at the Trafford Centre. A pretty decent film, but with some flaws, namely the plot/storylines that don't go anywhere, but the underlying premis and effects were great. It was shot in IMAX so looked gorgeous and the effects were top notch.

A 50's B movie brought up to date with an interesting take on the UFO and it's behaviour. My son wanted to see it because it refrences several anime and 'steals' some plot points!

I do think Jordan Peele should be the 'ideas' man and get someone else in to help him realise his vision better as the characters could have been padded out and handled better when it comes to dialogue. Oh, and the first scene had me wondering whether we were in the right screen, but if you do go to see it, then yes, there is supposed to be a murderous chimp!

 

*And when did Odeon get so damned expensive? Even with a discount card, 2 adult tickets came to just shy of £30. Don't even get me started on snack prices!

Edited August 15, 2022 by Dos_Box

[LeMarchand]

*And when did Odeon get so damned expensive? Even with a discount card, 2 adult tickets came to just shy of £30. Don't even get me started on snack prices!

 

Groupon are always touting Odeon tickets to me, though probably not valid for IMAX showings. https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/odeon-3

[Dos_Box]

Groupon are always touting Odeon tickets to me, though probably not valid for IMAX showings. https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/odeon-3

 

I ws blaming the ticket price on the quite poor audience level in there (about 20-30 people).

And I forgot how annoying the TC is. Not been in years!

[LeMarchand]

I ws blaming the ticket price on the quite poor audience level in there (about 20-30 people).

 

Our local cinema went the other way. Straight after lockdown, ticket prices were very low and are still only £5.50. We might start using our Meerkat Movies when they head much further north of a fiver, but figure they need all the support they can get at the moment. No niceties like IMAX, though. In fact, no "full" IMAX anywhere easily accessible around here. Only problem is the show times: The early evening one is usually too early to make, and later showings can take us well past bedtime, especially given the current fad for overly long movies.

[LeMarchand]

Prey (Disney+)

 

A young Comanche warrior faces off against a Predator. I didn't fall in love with it, but it was very entertaining. Worth a look. On a side note, why are the Windows apps for streaming services so poor? Netflix won't let you watch trailers or show ep lengths and the only way to watch "Prey" in Comanche on the Disney+ app was audio described (teeth gnashing).

 

Memory (Amazon Prime)

 

 

Liam Neeson plays a hitman starting to suffer from Alzheimers. Forced into a job he doesn't want due to his condition, things go further south when he refuses to break his own code and kill a child. Soon he finds himself being hunted by his former employer, the people who took out the contract and the FBI and police. Not the greatest film ever, but an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.

[Dos_Box]

Took my son to see ET last night in IMAX as he'd never seen it and wanted to know what the fuss was about.

Only about 10 of us in there and no kids (my son is 16)!

Still, I may ask them to look at their air-con as my hayfever seemed to have kicked in for the last 25 mins of the film. Wasn't too bad once we'd left

Oh, and my son loved the film

[LeMarchand]

 

Love in the Villa (Netflix)

 

An American teacher with a Romeo and Juliet obsession is finally going to realise her dream of visiting Verona with her boyfriend (soon to be fiancé?). Dumped by him, she goes ahead with the trip but finds her dream apartment double booked and the current renter (Tom "Umbrella Academy" Hopper) won't move out. The two begin a war to drive the other out, but guess what starts to happen?

 

Fun/sweet but forgettable. The romance doesn't start for quite some time, and never really develops, so it's hard to be too emotionally involved when the inevitable Obstacle happens. Also, possible the most chaste love story ever. I'm not sure they even kiss! Still, OK if you're in the mood for a romcom.

[LeMarchand]

Day Shift (Netflix)

 

Jamie Foxx plays a blue collar unsanctioned vampire hunter. Desperate for cash, he has to beg to be allowed back into the union but finds that he's killed the wrong vampire and now he and his family are targets.

 

The world-building is quite interesting, and there are a couple of action sequences that are very Hong Kong era John Woo, but you will find yourself wondering how exactly some plot revelations work. Better than I was expectibng, but more of a diversion than a must see.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Free Guy

 

Bit late to the party with this one, but it was an enjoyable, fun film.

Glad we gave it a shot!

[Garacesh]

Free Guy

 

Bit late to the party with this one, but it was an enjoyable, fun film.

Glad we gave it a shot!

 

FRIENDLY GESTURE

Admittedly it's a movie I'd slept on because the premise sounded really corny and probably-done-so-awfully, but I finally watched it a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I was the same. Didn't like the sound of it. But it was just pure good fun all the way through.

[LeMarchand]

That's Amor (Netflix)

 

On the eve of her 30th Birthday, Sofia loses her job and gets home to find her boyfriend since high school is in bed with another woman. She heads back to her Mum's, who is determined to get Sofia back on track, starting by going to a "couples" cooking class with her. A class that just happens to involve a young Spanish chef...

 

This was one of those "that'll do" choices and it was OK. More of a romcom than a romcom, but quite sweet. Might make you hungry, though.