Review the most recent film you've seen

[Heinrich]

I just despise Sondheim.

One thing I would like to say I've done is attend the entire Ring cycle as it was intended to be performed.

Anyway we're gonna put the board to sleep with this shit. Seen any movies lately?

[Parsifal]

One thing I would like to say I've done is attend the entire Ring cycle as it was intended to be performed.

Where did you see the Ring Cycle?  I saw it in Seattle 3 (or 4?) times and in  NYC once.

Anyway we're gonna put the board to sleep with this shit.

A little bit of "kulcha" won't kill them.

Seen any movies lately?

I've been watching some older movies lately on Netflix.
The ones I liked were (n/5 stars are my rating):
All is True (2018) (with Kenneth Branagh and Judy Dench) 5/5 stars
From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China (1981) 5/5 stars
Daniel Deronda (2002)  (Hugh Dancy is ) 4/5 stars (a frontal shot would have garnered 5/5 stars)
The Hollow Crown series - Richard II (2013) (with Ben Whishaw) 5/5 stars
Like Water for Chocolate (1992) 4/5 stars
Howard's End (1992) 5/5 stars
Lillies of the Field (1963) (with Sidney Poitier) 4/5 stars
Ken Burns - The War (documentary) 5/5 stars
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) (with James Stewart) 5/5 stars
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 5/5 stars (I like spy movies)
The Red Violin (1998) 5/5 stars

If you like I'll tell you which movies I hated.

I suspect that not many on here will care for my taste in movies.

[Heinrich]

I'm sorry, I meant I want to do it. Haven't done so yet.

[Parsifal]

Tonight I did a FF watch of West Side Story catching all of the dance scenes (awesome!) and some of the songs.
I defer to Heinrich's judgement on singing as I have no voice training and am not familiar with Broadway voices.
Still:
Ansel Elgort's singing really bored me.  More than once I cringed when he sang a certain note.
On the other hand, I really liked Rachel Zegler's singing (Maria) whom Heinrich hates.  I think she has a beautiful voice.  Also loved Ariana Debose (Anita) both for dance and acting as well as Rita Moreno (Valentina) who I believe was nominated for an Academy Award.
David Alvarez (Bernardo) kept catching my eye for his dancing (spectacular) and handsome good looks.
And as I mentioned earlier, Mike Faist (Riff) is a spectacular dancer, but I felt he didn't look the part (miscast).

The solo songs aside, I really liked Leonard Bernstein's orchestral music in the film.

[Heinrich]

Faist is a dreamboat (what the fuck was up with that accent tho? Do people sound like that in NY?). And I got the go ahead from my therapist to continue lusting after Ansel Elgort so I'm gonna. The camera really loves him.

Bernstein would have liked the boys in this adaptation, too.

[EthanE]

I need something light, positive, and cheerful lately. So I watched this. 

[Tiuri]

A bit of eye-candy but other than that, quite depressing because of the storyline. Unfortunately, it's not unrealistic just depressing.

[Parsifal]

A beautiful film.  Filmed in Bhutan with beautiful scenery.  And a cute guy.

Nominated for Best International Feature Film Oscar at the Academy Awards.

[ladsnet]

Bit late to the party as usual but I don't think its been reviewed on here yet...




Now.. I'm a Bond fan and I'm a Daniel Craig Bond fan.. but I don't get the 5* reviews for this. What an absolute mess.


FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS....

Show Content

Spoiler

OK. The bit before the credits was good. Bit OTT corny, but its Bond so thats expected.
After that... WTF ?!?!

First hour was just one OTT action sequence after another. No real plotting or story. Just BAM BAM BAM.
Then it calmed down and 30 mins or so actually seemed to be getting good. Plot. Drama.
Then he chokes Blofeld for absolutely no reason whatsoever.. and we're back into another hour of BAM BAM BAM.

You can see the Phoebe Waller-Bridge penned bits cos its pure Killing Eve style fantasy fighting. Bond just strolls through a villa / forest / submarine pen.. not even bothering to take cover, whilst wave after wave of Call of Duty style 'baddy troops' get mowed down.

The big baddy was, like in the past 2 movies, just a dull 'wronged as a child' disfigured man with zero personality and just gets shot in the end.

Ben Wishaw was great as Q but had nothing to do other than the 60s type turn up with a fancy watch and car.

Moneypenny has gone from being a trained assassin to being the secretary again.

It was 30 if not 45 minutes too long. Time that could have been easily trimmed from the Call of Duty segments.

The locations were the same as the last few films.  Med > Scandi > Abandoned Asian Island

And for the cherry on the shit cake... they killed not only Felix Leiter, but Bond himself.. who, oh I forgot, has a daughter now !


I just wish I'd never watched it.. cos then I could pretend it didn't exist.
I don't know how the same producers who have made all the previous films, would allow this to happen. Just baffling.

PS: I didn't like it.

[Parsifal]

I too am a Bond fan and have been thinking about watching some of the oldies again going all the way back to Dr. No (1962) and Goldfinger (1964).
I'm not surprised to learn that they've gotten worse recently.  That's what happens when you meddle with an original idea.

[Welsh Cake]

Have to admit, I wasn’t enamoured either. Too long and confusing. I couldn’t care less by the end

[Parsifal]

As society changes in this era of social media (shorter attention span for example?) I suppose action films change to meet them.

Last night I watched "An American in Paris" (1951) with Gene Kelly, a contemporary with Fred Astaire.  (I love Gene Kelly.  He was a wonderful dancer in addition to )
Boy, has the world of film making changed.

[Tiuri]

Really enjoyed this. It's darker than the trailer makes you suspect. Still not convinced about the movie's villain, because I've always liked the character, but it was well written and convincing with great special effects.

[MintyRox]

Just watched The King's Man. Absolute pile of steaming turd of a film.

[Tiuri]

Hilarious and at times very moving.

[Ollie2UK]

Man, I love Talking Pictures 

Saw this the other night. I'm a huge fan of creepy, atmospheric, slightly camp British horror films from the late 60s/early 70s and this is great. Pete Walker's films in general were pretty reviled at the time, but their reputations have increased over the years and Whipcord is a fine example.

Ridiculous plot, passable acting (for the most part) and I enjoyed every minute of it.

[Kev]

Man, I love Talking Pictures 

Saw this the other night. I'm a huge fan of creepy, atmospheric, slightly camp British horror films from the late 60s/early 70s and this is great. Pete Walker's films in general were pretty reviled at the time, but their reputations have increased over the years and Whipcord is a fine example.

Ridiculous plot, passable acting (for the most part) and I enjoyed every minute of it.

It's weird how British actors can make movies like this seem palpable.