The last movie I saw was...

[synaesthesia]

This weekend watched:

The Suicide Squad. Just as ADHD-like as the last attempt but far crazier. Definitely a James Gunn film. Some attempts at Edgar-Wright still filmography which were a little jarring to be honest, but it was a far better effort and I enjoyed the majority of it for a brain-in-neutral experience.

 

The Hitman's Bodyguard's Wife. Absolutely loved this film. More action than the first and just as funny. LOVE the pairing of Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds. Don't need an excuse to love Morgan Freeman. And just outright love Salma Hayek.

 

Both filthy, filthy films.

[LeMarchand]

Two days, two films, both with Tessa Thompson and both titles multi-syllable single words beginning with "A" and both beautifully shot. Otherwise both very different.

 

Annihilation (Netflix)

 

A group of woman are sent into "The Shimmer", an expanding zone of weirdness that may well engulf the planet.

 

This was probably not a good choice for a night when I was already feeling a bit tired, and I have to confess that I kept drifting off. Tonally similar to director Alex Garland's "Devs" TV series, you may enjoy this film if you enjoyed that. I wasn't impressed and have no plans to revisit it when I'm more likely to stay awake.

 

Antebellum (Sky Movies)

 

The film opens in a slave plantation, with a female slave being murdered for an escape attempt(?) and centres on the experiences of one of the female slaves (Janelle Monáe) before switching to present day where the same woman(?) is a successful multi-hyphenate. What is their connection? Thanks to some cunning misdirection, despite there being hints, the reveal may come as a bit of a surprise.#

 

The subject matter makes this an uncomfortable watch even though the horrors are more conjured in your imagination than shown on screen, but it's an interesting watch. Not sure why the reviews are so bad, but do feel that it was a mistake to try to ride on the success of "Get Out" and market this film as a horror.

[witch]

Free Guy - Ryan Reynolds

 

I enjoyed it - a bit of fun. About a man called Guy who lives in a video game

[Garacesh]

Awake on Netflix.

 

Called the plot/conclusion about 20 minutes in, but it was still an interesting movie. Would recommend if you've got 90 minutes to kill.

 

The Hitman's Bodyguard's Wife. Absolutely loved this film. More action than the first and just as funny. LOVE the pairing of Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds. Don't need an excuse to love Morgan Freeman. And just outright love Salma Hayek.

 

Wait they made a sequel?! I need to get in on this.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Garacesh

[6Foot2]

Awake on Netflix.

 

Called the plot/conclusion about 20 minutes in, but it was still an interesting movie. Would recommend if you've got 90 minutes to kill.

 

 

 

Wait they made a sequel?! I need to get in on this.

 

Link: [Movie Trailer] Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

 

[FN-GM]

Heat - 1995

 

I thought the film was good. But parts had been stretched out. I would have preferred if they had condensed it down.

 

Whilst watching it I noticed the seminaries between the movie and Grand Theft Auto 5. It turns out GTA 5 is based on this movie.

 

[TechMonkey]

Good on Paper - Predictable, fairly funny in places but I failed to finish it.

[mavhc]

Good on Paper - Predictable, fairly funny in places but I failed to finish it.

 

File under Films That Review Themselves

[Duranis]

Annihilation (Netflix)

 

This had been massively hyped up to me as a masterpiece of a film. Convinced the Mrs that this film was going to be awesome. It is beautifully shot but other than that is a very "meh" film, definitely not what I had been promised.

 

We watched "Love and Monsters" the other night. Was actually a pretty enjoyable film. If you have watched and enjoyed the film ZombieLand you will probably like it, very similar vibe just replacing zombies with giant mutant insects.

 

Also watched Suicide Squad 2 It was a lot better than the first one IMO. Didn't try and take itself as seriously (at all..) and that made it a lot more enjoyable.

 

Both were great films for a "sit and disengage brain" evening.

[LeMarchand]

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Cinema)

 

By now, you know if you like MCU films or not. This is one of the better ones due to a couple of tweaks to the formula: Martial Arts of various movie styles from a Jackie Chan inspired fight on scaffolding to a Crouching Tiger inspired forest clearing fight along with a dollop of far eastern mythology. Plus they address the "Ten Rings" from Iron Man 3. The mid-credits scene is worth staying for, but the end credits one isn't quite worth the wait. If anyone else is watching/has watched Kim's Convenience there's a nice joke during the tale about Shaun/Shang's first meeting with the Awkwafina character.

 

Main disappointment: Still too much murky CGI.

Edited September 9, 2021 by LeMarchand

[LeMarchand]

Free Guy (Cinema)

 

Ryan Reynolds stars as an NPC in a GTA type game who grows self aware. As well as being the fun action comedy the trailer suggests, there is a little bit of depth to some of the ideas and points made and it's surprisingly warm-hearted. I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting.

[LeMarchand]

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (Available via assorted PPV services)

 

After his father is killed, a young boy becomes a drifter who fights for a living whilst trying to track his father's killer. As a young man, he is recruited into the Yakuza, but is then taken in by a clan of ninjas.

 

If you think that lot doesn't make much sense, that's got nothing on the leaps in this film. Poor Henry Golding does his best, and has been hitting the gym (and, I suspect, been told to get "more American" veneers) but the film fails to grip. Interesting that all three of the main characters are played by UK based actors and there is some good neon-drenched cinematography, but you've seen it all before. Not awful, but if you're only prepared to see one big budget martial arts/Asian-led movie this year, make it Shang Chi.

[LeMarchand]

The Suicide Squad (Various streaming services)

 

Really enjoyed this one, though Mme LeMarchand was appalled by the amount of gore. Well worth a look if you enjoy sick/dark humour and can stomach the violence. Apparently the upcoming spin off show is set to be in a similar vein - can't wait!

[Duranis]

We watched "The 5th Wave" last night. Didn't realise it was a YA/Teen movie before we started watching it.

 

It was pretty crud. Started ok, but the entire plot was predictable and was like a checklist for YA film tropes. Also was very much set up for a multi film story (so rubbish ending) but I highly doubt there will ever be a second film.

[6Foot2]

We watched "The 5th Wave" last night. Didn't realise it was a YA/Teen movie before we started watching it.

 

It was pretty crud. Started ok, but the entire plot was predictable and was like a checklist for YA film tropes. Also was very much set up for a multi film story (so rubbish ending) but I highly doubt there will ever be a second film.

 

Another of hers (Chloë Grace Moretz) to steer clear of: Shadow in the Cloud.

[TechMonkey]

Watched Ode to Joy (2019) last night. A nice story with an interesting take. Martin Freeman is as good as ever, although his accent does tend to wander all over the place. Nothing mind blowing or revolutionary, but good fun and quite sweet in places

 

[witch]

Zombieland - Double Tap (netflix)

Yeah yeah - not as good as the first film and a bit late too but I loved it

[Duranis]

Zombieland - Double Tap (netflix)

Yeah yeah - not as good as the first film and a bit late too but I loved it

 

Yeah we watched it the other night and found it pretty enjoyable.

[synaesthesia]

Free guy. Refreshingly awesome.

[LeMarchand]

Gunpowder Milkshake (Sky Movies)

 

An assassin takes a young girl (whose father she inadvertently killed) under her wing. Basically Jane Wick with a lot of Brits in the cast. Fun, but disposable.

[Ditto]

#2 son is an avid reader of Cassandra Clare books, including the Shadowhunter Chronicles, so we watched The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones free on Prime video.

It was excellent and had me jump out of my seat once, which is very rare! I'd recommended it if you are looking for a young adult science fiction movie, but for balance, the critics didn't rate it highly, yet Joe Public feedback generally appears stronger. I have to say, they have moved on a long way since Octonauts - what happened?!

[elsiegee40]

No time to die. Loved it despite deciding a face mask was a necessity.

[Simcfc73]

No time to die. Loved it despite deciding a face mask was a necessity.

 

Sign of a good film for me is I never looked at my watch, thought it was pretty good. Can't say anything else in case I spoil it for others.

[LeMarchand]

Infinite (Amazon Prime)

 

 

Highlander... reincarnated

 

The Infinite are a group of people who live amongst us who reincarnate when they are killed, regaining their past memories when the attain puberty. Over the centuries they have split into two factions: The Believers, who see their power as a gift that should be used to help humanity, and the Nihilists who want to break their cycle and finally die. The balance of power is currently shifting in favour of the latter group, who have developed a "Dethroner" bullet that captures the consciousness/soul of Infinites killed by it and stores it electronically, preventing reincarnation and "The Egg", a device that will destroy the DNA of all creatures, giving the Infinites no-one to reincarnate to. (Shhh... best not to question why they don't just shoot themselves with the magic bullet). A Believer managed to hide the egg before being killed in the 70s and in present day a guy named Evan McCauley may be his reincarnation - but Evan can't remember any of this.

 

This feels like a comic book adaptation, but was apparently based on a prose book. It's dumb fun, let down by occasionally shonky (for the scale of production) CGI and the far too unbelievable plot. Still, if you have Prime and are in the mood for something with stunt sequences that make the Fast and Furious movies look like Physics text books, you could do worse.

[LeMarchand]

Another of hers (Chloë Grace Moretz) to steer clear of: Shadow in the Cloud.

 

 

I thought that was reasonably entertaining.

#2 son is an avid reader of Cassandra Clare books, including the Shadowhunter Chronicles, so we watched The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones free on Prime video.

It was excellent and had me jump out of my seat once, which is very rare! I'd recommended it if you are looking for a young adult science fiction movie, but for balance, the critics didn't rate it highly, yet Joe Public feedback generally appears stronger. I have to say, they have moved on a long way since Octonauts - what happened?!

 

I thought the film was OK, but gave up on the series after a couple of eps.

 

No Time to Die (Cinema)

 

One of the better blonde Bonds, and worth a look (though way too long and grey). I still feel Spectre worked better as a "send off" for Craig, and (had it not been filmed as such) NT2D would have had a much greater impact.