The last movie I saw was...

[LeMarchand]

One Life (Cinema)

 

 

Based on the true story of Nicholas Winton, whose work during the lead up to WW2 saved the lives of almost 700 children.

 

Not exactly groundbreaking, but it packs an incredible emotional punch. Mme LeMarchand wouldn't see it, and even just trying to tell her about the film afterwards had me struggling to hold back the tears. Well worth a look.

[LeMarchand]

Maybe I Do (Rental most places)

 

Diane Keaton meets William H Macy at a cinema and the two of them hit it off enough to head for a motel, but end up talking and walking all night in one of the best nights either has had in a very long time. Richard Gere breaks off his four month relationship with Susan Sarandon, who swears revenge. Emma Roberts, distraught that her boyfriend Luke Bracey seems to have no plans to marry her, gives him a day to decide what he wants and the two of them head to their parents for advice and comfort, which leads to the two sets of parents getting to meet for the first time. Well, to meet as married couples for the first time.

 

Trailer makes this look like a sparky romcom meets bedroom farce but, while it does have its moments, it's pretty much a somewhat talky stage play (it was based on a theatrical production). Even the composition of some shots looks like the way the actors would stand on a stage. Bit miffed I "wasted" a free rental on this.

Edited January 8, 2024 by LeMarchand

[LeMarchand]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Cinema)

 

After his father's death, (Black) Manta swears revenge against the man who is apparently now to be know as Aahquaman and starts searching for Atlantean tech to fix his suit. He finds a trident that gives him incredible powers, but there is a price to be paid for it is tied to an ancient being who also wants to see Atlantis destroyed.

 

I enjoyed this more than I expected, but I had very low expectations. There is actually some nice production design, but a lot of the action takes place in blurry CGI. Amber Heard's role is virtually non-existent (for some reason...) to the extent that they might as well have killed Mera off-screen. Not sure how this fits in with the end of "The Flash" either. Adieu, DCEU.

[LeMarchand]

Re: "Saltburn". Just seen someone on YouTube complaining about a "Saltburn" mug that she'd bought because it looked "cute" coming with a "sick" plug hole. Erm... you thought merchandise for the film would be "cute"?

 

[LeMarchand]

The Princess Bride (ITVX)

 

Saw this on release and wasn't impressed at the time. I didn't like the humour, felt it looked cheap, and wasn't impressed by the cast. I appreciated it a bit more this time, but still didn't love it.

[Dos_Box]

Took my son to see The Boy And The Heron last week at the IMAX in the Printworks in Manchester.

What a cracking film and nice to Miyazaki on top of his game still

 

Edited January 18, 2024 by Dos_Box

[Patrick]

Saltburn.

 

Very good, although absolutely for adults and some might find it distributing.

[Ditto]

Saltburn.

 

Very good, although absolutely for adults and some might find it distributing.

I'm inclined to agree, but Prime Video has is at 15+.

 

I watched A Simple Favour also on Prime, also 15+. Enjoyable, some fun twists, perhaps a little OTT at times, but again, maybe should be 18+.

[LeMarchand]

The Beekeeper (Cinema)

 

NSFW trailer - violence and swearing

 

 

When his landlady commits suicide after falling victim to a "virus alert" scam, beekeeper Adam Clay decides to work his way up the food chain to destroy the operation. As he was also a Beekeeper, one of an elite off-the-books force that is tasked with "protecting the hive", this means that the bad guys don't stand much of a chance.

 

Starring Jason Statham and a bunch of Brits essaying American accents with various degrees of success along with Emmy Raver-Lampman from "The Umbrella Academy", who deserves an Oscar for keeping a straight face when telling JS's character that she "detects a trace of a British accent" in his voice, and Josh Hutcherson. It's a fun action flick that is receiving some surprisingly decent reviews. We enjoyed it (nice to see Jemma Redgrave promoted fro head of UNIT to President of the USA) but I'd say wait for it to be shown on Sky, who appear to have the UK rights.

[LeMarchand]

Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway (Netflix)

 

 

Based on a true story, this follows the struggles of an Indian mother whose children are taken into custody in Norway to extricate them from an unjust system. Worth a look, though I'd suggest fast-forwarding through the musical montages unless you're a big fan of such interludes.

 

Glad I watched this after some of the lighter Norwegian shows I've recently enjoyed as I don't think I'd have enjoyed them as much after seeing this film.

[6Foot2]

The Boondock Saints [Prime Video. Other streaming/non-streaming options may be available]

 

 

Link: The Boondock Saints (1999) - IMDb

 

Two Irish Catholic brothers become vigilantes and wipe out Boston's criminal underworld in the name of God.

 

Very violent and includes scenes some may find upsetting.

[LeMarchand]

Anyone But You (Cinema)

 

TRAILER NSFW (Language and scenes involving rumpy/bare parts)

 

 

After a meet-cute in a coffee shop Bea and Ben spend an incredible night together, but misunderstandings in the morning curdles the relationship. 2 years later, still hating each other, they find themselves at the same wedding in Australia. Her folks are trying to pair her off with her ex while he's still pining for his ex, who is also a guest. They hatch a plan to act like the perfect couple to drive off her ex whilst making his jealous.

 

Based loosely on "Much Ado About Nothing", though it does manage to sneak in a few of Shakey's lines and a lot of his "loudly discussing the protagonists so that they will overhear and act on the 'secret' they have discovered", this is a fun romcom. Not as raunchy as the trailer suggests, it's actually quite sweet. I wouldn't rush to the cinema but, if you're into romcoms, worth a look when it hits streaming.

 

P.S. The BBFC rated this 15 for "strong language" but my notes on the trailer are more accurate!

[LeMarchand]

Argylle (Cinema)

 

 

A spy novelist has an uncanny knack for predicting real world events in the world of espionage, leading her to be sought after by two opposing forces.

 

Not the "Cavill plays Bond" flick that seemed to be on the cards, but a generally fun action comedy. I was a bit worried that Matthew Vaughan had fallen prey to the "Bourne" style of fight scenes, as he generally shoots his fights so that you can clearly see what's happening and most of the fights here were shot in close quarters, but a couple of set pieces towards the end show him back on form. Quite twisty but it does seem to make sense - though the final scene and a mid-credits scene murky the waters a bit. Probably not a "cinema" one unless you go a lot especially as it will be on Apple TV+ fairly soon. Hopefully its soft box office takings won't mean that the proposed franchise will stall. At present a "prequel" show is planned which seems more like an adaptation of the book this is supposed to be based on, as well as a couple more movies and the mid-credits scene hints at another tie-in. Talking about the book, I have my suspicions that it is part of a multimedia master plan rather than a novel that got picked up for adaptation...

[Norphy]

I'm watching the Star Wars films with my son. He's going through them for the first time and we're going through them in story order because why not? We've just watched Revenge of the Sith

 

Honestly and surprisingly, not as bad as I remember it being. Yes, the dialogue is pretty awful at times and both Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are especially wooden at times but overall the film was entertaining. Easily the best of the Prequel trilogy.

 

Rogue One next!

[LeMarchand]

Expend4bles (Rental most places, we used a our penultimate free rental at Rakuten)

 

 

After an op goes wrong, the gang have to try to save the world from WW3. This one sees Jason Statham take the lead (allegedly for good, though this may have been misdirection) and is a marked improvement on 3. Let down by some iffy greenscreen and FX, but fun if you like this sort of thing. Given the ending, I reckon we could get double the Stath in the next movie by merging two of his franchises in: Expendable5 vs M3g.

[LeMarchand]

The Retirement Plan (Rental most places, but when we looked it was cheaper to buy it for £1.99 from Apple than rent it)

 

 

Nic Cage plays a retired agent who has to use his particular set of skills when his daughter and granddaughter are in trouble. OK for a couple of quid, but not as funny as the trailer makes it look.

[witch]

Operation Rainfall

One of those annoying films that should have had a sequel but it was never made

[6Foot2]

Country Cottage [2013, Included with Prime]

 

 

Starring: Malin Akerman, Tyler Labine, Lucy Punch, Dan Petronijevic, Benjamin Ayres, Kenneth Welsh.

[LeMarchand]

Dune: Part 2 (Cinema)

 

Found this a much better watch than Part 1 but, after refreshing my memory of the book on Wiki, it did seem to deviate, sometimes for no discernable reason, from the book. I will probably watch both parts at home as the picture at our local cinema is sometimes a bit murky. Not sure my subwoofer will be as impactful, though. Worth a look if you enjoyed the first. I do find Villeneuve's work a bit "distant", though.

[6Foot2]

The Guard (Streamed via Channel 4)

 

NOTE: The YouTube thumbnail and trailer maybe NSFW

 

Starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle! THE GUARD is a comedic, fish out of water tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption, and the two cops who must join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang, an unorthodox Irish policeman and a straitlaced FBI agent.

[Noxid_w]

Dune: Part 2 (Cinema)

 

Found this a much better watch than Part 1 but, after refreshing my memory of the book on Wiki, it did seem to deviate, sometimes for no discernable reason, from the book. I will probably watch both parts at home as the picture at our local cinema is sometimes a bit murky. Not sure my subwoofer will be as impactful, though. Worth a look if you enjoyed the first. I do find Villeneuve's work a bit "distant", though.

 

This needs to be seen in IMAX if possible. Incredible Cinematic experience. I would say the changes from the book were to cater for a modern audience and so that it will translate well onto screen (book came out in 1954). Not sure what you mean by Villeneuve's work is "distant". I'm curious

[LeMarchand]

I would say the changes from the book were to cater for a modern audience and so that it will translate well onto screen (book came out in 1954). Not sure what you mean by Villeneuve's work is "distant". I'm curious

 

I'm not sure how turning Chani so sulky caters to today's audiences. On second thoughts... Things like the compression of the timescale (presumably to avoid having to cast a kid as Alia?) felt unnecessary, as did the more subtle changes as to the way the duel went down.

 

As for Denis V, I find his films to be intellectually stimulating and they look great, but they never engage me emotionally. I've only seen his SF output and "Prisoners", though.

[Dos_Box]

This needs to be seen in IMAX if possible. Incredible Cinematic experience. I would say the changes from the book were to cater for a modern audience and so that it will translate well onto screen (book came out in 1954). Not sure what you mean by Villeneuve's work is "distant". I'm curious

 

I'm off to see it at Vue tonight and very much looking forward to it.

I think some Vue's in the region (NW) will be doing a Dune double bill soon once the main run of Dune II is done.

 

ETA: Yep - https://www.myvue.com/cinema/manchester-printworks/film/dune-and-dune-2-double-bill - but doesn't seem to be any timings up yet (unless I've already missed them!).

[Noxid_w]

I'm off to see it at Vue tonight and very much looking forward to it.

I think some Vue's in the region (NW) will be doing a Dune double bill soon once the main run of Dune II is done.

 

ETA: Yep - https://www.myvue.com/cinema/manchester-printworks/film/dune-and-dune-2-double-bill - but doesn't seem to be any timings up yet (unless I've already missed them!).

 

You will have an extremely numb bum!

[LeMarchand]

You will have an extremely numb bum!

 

Or a something bum, if that theatre has this special feature: https://www.engadget.com/dune-2-review-dolby-cinema-194415814.html

 

BTW, our cinema didn't have the sandworm popcorn buckets and didn't get any of the House Atreides cups either.