The last movie I saw was...

[LeMarchand]

Dhoom Dhaam (Netflix)

 

 

 

On the night of their arranged marriage a staid veterinarian and a self-confident party girl find themselves demanding to know where "Charlie" is. Except neither of them have a clue who "Charlie" is.

 

Fun Indian action comedy. At under two hours it's also short for an Indian movie, helped by not having any full-on Bollywood song and dance numbers - though there are a couple of songs playing over scenes and a sorta song and dance number when the vet has to keep the crowd at a male strip show entertained.

[Simcfc73]

Went to see thunderbolts with my 13yo last night.

 

£27 for 2 🙄 (should have been over £30 but have prime so there's a discount) but it was iSense and nice comfy seats. Was half full for the opening night which says alot.

 

I really wanted to love this film but it was a bit muh. Probably 3/5.. maybe 3.5

 

Some of the characters were great... The dad annoyed me.. Pugh is really good.

 

The very last end credit scene made squeal..

 

My daughter loved it though.

[NegativeKillDeath]

Pink Floyd at Pompeii. If you're a fan of their pre Dark Side of the Moon stuff and you can see it in a Dolby Atmos theatre then I'd recommend it. 

Edited May 2, 2025 by NegativeKillDeath

[LeMarchand]

Thunderbolts* (Cinema)

 

A bunch of  "B" List supers uncover a conspiracy and must become a team to defeat the threat.

 

One of the better recent Marvels, if far from a classic. The mid-credits scene is amusing but missable while the end credits scene sets up at least two future Marvels. I'm interested to know if the events that take place are near the beginning of the teased movie or the end.

 

Exterritorial (Netflix)

 

 

When her son disappears in the American Consulate, a German ex-special forces agent must use her particular set of skulls to get him back.

 

Fun German action thriller. Would have been better without so many subplots (there were at least three different criminal activities going on in the building), a better attempt at making us wonder if it really was all PTSD, and more imaginative casting. Casting a Brit/Scot as a Yank official means you just know he's not a nice guy.

[mavhc]

17 hours ago, LeMarchand said:

When her son disappears in the American Consulate, a German ex-special forces agent must use her particular set of skulls to get him back.

 

 

I will swap my son for this precious collection from the Berlin museum!

[LeMarchand]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: To The Moon And Back

 

An unposted letter sends the POSTables  on a search for the sender, a search that involves a hugely popular pop star.

 

A slight improvement on the recent entries in the series with more of the "mystery" and less of the stuff about the POSTables. I guess Savage Garden aren't that big in the US, though. One for fans of the series only.

[LeMarchand]

Havoc (Netflix)

 

Tom Hardy stars as a corrupt cop trying to save  his skin by keeping the equally corrupt mayor's criminal son safe from a small army of Triad goons.

 

Supposedly an homage to the HK "heroic bloodshed" period this, certainly has the bloodshed but it's a bit low on the heroism. All but one of the characters are criminals and the other has questionable judgement. A lot of the vehicular action seems to be murky CGI, probably not helped by the movie being shot mainly in Cardiff. The two main leads are both Brits playing Yanks, though Tom Hardy seemed to be auditioning for a part in the next "Apes" movie, doing a very odd walk. Still, if you It's not without it's merits, but there's nothing as cool as Chow Yun Fat flipping a table to catch the revolver left on it in The Kille)

[LeMarchand]

Cleaner (Sky Movies)

 

After having had to leave the army, Joey (Daisy Ridley) has been working as a window cleaner at a skyscraper owned by and evil energy corp. One particularly bad day gets worse when eco-terrorists take over the building...

 

Yes, it's "Die Hard: London". Unfortunately Joey is stuck on a platform rather than doing high wire stuff for a lot of the movie. Didn't hate it, but wouldn't recommend it.

[LeMarchand]

Booksmart (Sky Movies)

 

When 11 year old Mildred's mother is rendered comatose in a freak accident her absentee father flies to New Zealand from the US to care for her. He agrees to accompany her on a trek in the wilderness to try to get footage of the NZ equivalent of the Beast of Bodmin which could earn them $5ok and clear her Mum's debts.

 

Low key comedy/drama. OK, but there are far better things to watch.

[Simcfc73]

Working Man 2025

 

 

 

Terrible Film

 

The best parts are the horrendous russian accents by the english cast and seeing the cut scenes where they filmed in blighty.

 

No idea how they got such a good cast... oh and its the first time I've seen Scanlan be a wimp.

[LeMarchand]

Mission:Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Cinema)

 

A direct sequel to Dead Reckoning, this has Ethan Hunt and his team trying to stop The Entity before it unleashes nuclear armageddon on the world.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was a bit long and Tom kept taking his shirt off, plus you shouldn't think to hard about how realistic things are, though. It reminded me of 007's Spectre in that it came across as a "greatest hits"/"farewell tour" with lots of flashbacks to earlier movies and character appearances. As such, it would make a fitting end to the franchise - or they could reboot without Ethan Hunt.
 

[LeMarchand]

Fountain of Youth (Apple TV+)

 

An adventure cons his sister into joining his team on the quest for the fountain of youth.

 

Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this, but it just didn't grab me. Possibly because what they really needed would have been the Tree of Life, possibly because John Krasinki's character came off as a self-centred jerk most of the time, or possibly because the plot seemed to have come from one of those sub-Dan Brown books that flooded the shelves when the DV Code hit big.

[LeMarchand]

Nonnas (Netflix)

 

 

Adrift after his mother dies, an Italian-American man decides to pay tribute to her by opening an Italian restaurant where all the cooks are "nonnas" cooking their own family recipes.

 

Based (loosely, I suspect) on a true story - the real restaurant owner can be seen in the the restaurant scene towards the end of the movie - this isn't a "great" movie, but is the cinematic equivalent of one of the nonna's meals*: warm and comforting. Well worth a look but make sure you've eaten before watching, or you will feel hungry.

 

*Maybe not the sheep's head.

 

P.S. Susan Sarandon is 78!!!

Also started on the Beetlegeuse sequel but soon drifted off to sleep.

[LeMarchand]

Everly (Prime Video)

 

Salma Hayak stars in this 2014 actioner as a woman forced in being a sex slave for nasty Yakuza types. One day she cracks and fights back, but the building she is in is under Yakuza control. Will she be able to make it out?

 

This is one of those "bottom self of the video store" type low budget efforts that relies on a lot of violence, blood, and flesh. Probably OK to stick on with the lads after a night's drinking but not recommended.

[mavhc]

Palm Springs, it's one of those infinite time-loop situations you might have heard about.

 

It's good

[LeMarchand]

The Accountant (Sky Movies)

 

Ben Affleck Stars as a high-functioning autistic accountant (surprise!) who has sidelines in helping out struggling folk with their taxes, helping out various legal an illegal types work out why they appear to losing cash and occasionally using his skills with high powered rifles, machine guns, hand weapons and martial arts to dispense justice.

 

OK action thriller but Affleck's character and some of his motivations didn't really convince. Hopefully the sequel is better.

[LeMarchand]

How To Train Your Dragon (2025) (Cinema)

 

"Live action" remake of the classic animation is just as good. In some ways it's better as you feel that the characters are in more danger and the flight sequences are breathtaking.Well worth a watch.

[LeMarchand]

The Bricklayer (Sky Movies)

 

An ex-CIA operative, now working as a bricklayer, gets back in the game when his  "dead" partner and best friend tuns up very much alive and on a killing spree.

 

Sub-par actioner. Let's just say Jason Statham has nothing to worry about.

 

Jewel Thief - The Heist Begins (Netflix)

 

When an underworld boss/businessman, the sort of guy who's so evil that he kills his dog for allowing someone else to pet him, starts to lose money after his accountant turns state's evidence, he ensnares India's top jewel thief's father into his orbit to force the thief to undertake a job for him.

 

OK action movie but there are far better Indian movies on Netflix.

 

 

[LeMarchand]

Deep Cover (Prime Video)

 

Trailer possibly a bit violent for work and features the d*ck word.

 

 

3 less than successful would be improv actors/comedians are recruited as undercover agents for the police but rapidly get in well over their heads.

 

Fun action comedy. Not one you'll be wanting to watch over and over again, but thoroughly enjoyable when you're watching it.

[LeMarchand]

Ballerina (Cinema)

 

"From the world of John Wick". After her father is killed a young girl is placed with the Ruska Roma (sp?) and trained to be a ballerina/assassin, but she is determined to enact her revenge on her father's killers...

 

OK action thriller that comes off like a video game where anything you see can be used as a weapon. This does lead to a scene with flamethrowers being used in a shoot out, but the film goes from intro, through the obligatory training montage, and then to pedal-to-the-metal carnage and rarely takes its foot off the accelerator, which gets a bit tiring. I'd say wait for the streaming release.

[Simcfc73]

This is turning into the LeMarchand thread

 

I watched Warfare last night. First film in ages that I wasn't doomscrolling on my phone at the same time. 

 

Just superb war film with some amazing performances. The action scenes are some of the best I've watched. 

[ICTDirect_Dave]

The live action How to Train Your Dragon is excellent.

Largely because they don't mess too much with what is essentially already a damned-near perfect film.

 

The new cast are excellent and Stoick being unchanged give a sense of continuity.

 

Whilst it was very pretty to look at.  It did lack a little of the cinematographic ambition of the original.  Some of this will be down to the human element.  It's harder, much hard to pull off some of the glorious shots of the animated version.  

But that's a minor niggle.  The final battle is glorious and the soundtrack soars!

 

Here's looking forward to the sequel where perhaps they've left room to make a few more ambitious tweaks to the storyline.

[Omega_NL]

Got a chance last week to watch 28 Years Later at the cinema.

 

Good film with some intense moments (and some pretty weird ones), great acting across the board as well particularly from the young actor who plays Spike and Ralph Fiennes who plays imo the best character in the film.

 

Probably one of the worst endings I've ever seen, with an inexplicably dreadful celebrity cameo/impression.

[LeMarchand]

Good to see some others have watched movies!

 

Saw 28 Years Later at the cinema last night. I did enjoy it, and did jump in my seat a few times, but I wouldn't say it's one to rush out to watch. As above, the acting is great with the kid being much more natural than most UK child actors. I found the constant changes in filming style to be a bit annoying, though I guess that was to throw the viewers off balance.

 

The ending? I think it was supposed to suggest that there could be worse things than zombies in the future.

 

P.S. In the "28verse" the Sycamore Gap tree is still standing, which makes sense.

[LeMarchand]

M3GAN 2.0 (Cinema)

 

After the events of the first film Gemma has turned into an anti-AI evangelist, moving her firm towards exoskeletons that can be used to help human workers keep up with the inevitable increased use of a robotic workforce. She is still fiercely protective of Cady, but is neglecting her and her company to deliver lectures on the problems of AI. When it turns out that someone has managed to get fold of MEGAN's source code and used it to create an assassinbot that has Gemma and Cady in its sights, only one thing can save them: MEGAN 2.0.

 

This is very much the T2 to the original's "Terminator" with Megan turning mainly good. It's much more humorous though and, for me, much more enjoyable. Unfortunately it seems that it's not doing so well financially; we were the only ones in an admittedly early showing. Mme LeMarchand, who hasn't seen the first (I only saw it on streaming) and isn't interested in doing so actually wanted to see this and also enjoyed it. Guess we must be outliers.