Films you've seen lately

[Richard Tarleton]

..... we saw The Big Sick instead. Have to say I enjoyed it immensely. It is both side splitting funny and poignant and that must be hard to pull off. The acting is superb, especially the two sets of Parents, both the Pakistani parents and the coupling of Ray Romano and Holly Hunter. Jud Apatow films are always worthwhile but this is Best Picture worthy.

Interesting review in the Sunday Times today. It wonders if, judging by the ending, something is being held back for a sequel? In any event I shall be looking out for it on Sky etc. as, like Jayne, I don't go to the cinema any more (the last time I did, in 2007, it was only to walk out of Ratatouille at the Angel Islington after about 30 minutes - on an off-night during the 2007 ROH Ring )

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Did I ever mention my disappointment at the film Inferno, based on Dan Brown's fourthRobert Langdon book?

It was all going fine until they changed the ending. The plot was concerned with the potential problem of rising world population. In the end, the "villain"'s plan partially succeeded, resulting in a potentially more stable population, but grave disappointment for a portion of the population. The film screenplay changed that ending, completely sanitising the cliff-hanger original.

[jayne lee wilson]

Interesting review in the Sunday Times today. It wonders if, judging by the ending, something is being held back for a sequel? In any event I shall be looking out for it on Sky etc. as, like Jayne, I don't go to the cinema any more (the last time I did, in 2007, it was only to walk out of Ratatouille at the Angel Islington after about 30 minutes - on an off-night during the 2007 ROH Ring )

You walked out on Ratatouille....?! So you never got to meet restaurant critic Anton Ego (deliciously voiced by Peter O'Toole...? For shame!) and how the food gets round him...(one guess which dish...)

I guess you need to be a bit of a big kid to like these things...freely admit to etc., but they have a uniquely seductive visual beauty too, in the tradition of Bambi etc.
My favourite of the genre is probably still Wall-E, helped by the wonderful Hello Dolly on the soundtrack and (like Pets) with a wonderful intro tune ("Out There...")..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx-4Hz_W-TY

...some contrast with the state of the Earth, but if that doesn't make you smile on a Sunday afternoon, nothing will.....

[Richard Tarleton]

You walked out on Ratatouille....?! So you never got to meet restaurant critic Anton Ego (deliciously voiced by Peter O'Toole...? For shame!) and how the food gets round him...(one guess which dish...)

I guess you need to be a bit of a big kid to like these things...freely admit to etc., but they have a uniquely seductive visual beauty too, in the tradition of Bambi etc.
My favourite of the genre is probably still Wall-E, helped by the wonderful Hello Dolly on the soundtrack and (like Pets) with a wonderful intro tune ("Out There...")..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx-4Hz_W-TY

...some contrast with the state of the Earth, but if that doesn't make you smile on a Sunday afternoon, nothing will.....

I think we'd just met him ..... But it was, as much as anything, the noise, the trailers, the sticky seats, the popcorn, the mobile phones - altogether a horrible experience. Actually my opera buddy whose idea it was (they lived not far from the Angel in those days) is also a big fan of Wall-E, you'd get on well . Big kid - I loved Toy Story x 3...... But talking of uniquely seductive visual beauty my niece introduced me to Japanese anime films, with first Akira then Spirited Away - quite extraordinary...

[Lat-Literal]

Born Free - on television.

[Richard Tarleton]

Born Free - on television.

Have you seen this Lat? An interesting take on Joy Adamson by David Attenborough. Knowing what happened to them, and what is happening to lions these days, makes it a hard watch.

[Lat-Literal]

Have you seen this Lat? An interesting take on Joy Adamson by David Attenborough. Knowing what happened to them, and what is happening to lions these days, makes it a hard watch.

I hadn't seen that before Richard.

It was very moving - thanks very much.

[Nick Armstrong]

Just home from watching Dunkirk, and I must say I thought it was excellent. When I was told, a few days ago, that Elgar's music was being used, my heart sank, and I said it was certain to be Nimrod. But it wasn't the usual overuse of the variation, from the likes of Breakfast. It was augmented (in time) to such an extent that it was imperceptible at first, gradually evolving as the film progressed, so that when it was heard (still at a very slow tempo) near the end of the film, it was welcome and very effective. .

Saw Dunkirk this evening - gripping and brilliant, and I agree EA about the use of Nimrod: after the percussive 'non-musical' Hans Zimmer score for the first (say) 90 minutes of the film, a series of mechanistic crescendos augmenting the tension of the action to an almost unbearable degree, the introduction of the version of Elgar's music was pretty overwhelming in context. I thought its sparing use was very successful, especially in the arrangement by Benjamin Wallfisch - its slowed-down, impressionistic style reminded me of that lovely choral version by Sandström of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen in terms of how it recreated very familiar source material.

Unforgettable film.

[johncorrigan]

Saw Dunkirk this evening - gripping and brilliant, and I agree EA about the use of Nimrod: after the percussive 'non-musical' Hans Zimmer score for the first (say) 90 minutes of the film, a series of mechanistic crescendos augmenting the tension of the action to an almost unbearable degree, the introduction of the version of Elgar's music was pretty overwhelming in context. I thought its sparing use was very successful, especially in the arrangement by Benjamin Wallfisch - its slowed-down, impressionistic style reminded me of that lovely choral version by Sandström of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen in terms of how it recreated very familiar source material.

Unforgettable film.

Went with my daughter on Tuesday who, when we came out said, 'Was that a real event or made up, Dad?' I felt like I'd failed as a parent; either that or her Standard Grade History teacher did. I thought the three strands of the story were really well interwoven...a good storytelling device of land, sea and air. I then found out from my Mum when I talked to her about it that my Uncle Alex, one of her big brothers, was evacuated from Dunkirk. 'He never talked about it,' she said. 'Your Uncle John (his big brother) only found out about him being at Dunkirk at Alex' funeral in the late 90s'. Miss C really enjoyed it though she said she found it difficult to take Harry Styles seriously...I didn't know which one he was. I loved the soundtrack and completely agree about the sparing use of Elgar, which I found most moving.

[Constantbee]

Increasingly finding yourself at odds with reviewers? Me too. Maybe try The Passengers (2016, Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence). Saw it at the weekend on a Now TV trial subscription. Visually stunning sci-fi romance with slick styling, better suited to the big screen than the living room, and it's got a great Thomas Newman soundtrack. Full soundtrack link below. Wouldn't expect to find a full soundtrack on Youtube, but glad it's there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO0Pd0DI0rk

Official trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BWWWQzTpNU

Plot may be a bit cheesy, but certainly watchable. 5,000 passengers on a megaspaceship are emigrating from earth on a journey that takes 130 years. Ship hits meteor shower and suffers a malfunction. One passenger wakes up before his destination. What does he do? Nice and simple

The support movie for the weekend's session btw was Disney's Zootropolis. Ambitious female baby bunny graduates from Police Academy one and a half, and heads for the big city, where she hopes to make the world a better place. As with all Disney these days the graphics are immaculate, and it's got some genuinely funny moments. Watch out for the sloths in ZPD's data management function There's also an irritatingly catchy song by Shakira, masquerading as Zootropolis' favourite star Gazelle. Link follows:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i9-KF6BtkI

Great for kids of all ages.

[vinteuil]

.

... we went last week to see Call Me By Your Name, and were seduced, captivated. It's like those marvellous summer-soaked languorous Eric Rohmer films of the 1970s - Claire's Knee and so on. Highly recommended.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/29/call-me-by-your-name-review-peach-of-a-romance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Me_by_Your_Name_(film)

.

[Conchis]

Went with my daughter on Tuesday who, when we came out said, 'Was that a real event or made up, Dad?' I felt like I'd failed as a parent; either that or her Standard Grade History teacher did. I thought the three strands of the story were really well interwoven...a good storytelling device of land, sea and air. I then found out from my Mum when I talked to her about it that my Uncle Alex, one of her big brothers, was evacuated from Dunkirk. 'He never talked about it,' she said. 'Your Uncle John (his big brother) only found out about him being at Dunkirk at Alex' funeral in the late 90s'. Miss C really enjoyed it though she said she found it difficult to take Harry Styles seriously...I didn't know which one he was. I loved the soundtrack and completely agree about the sparing use of Elgar, which I found most moving.

Ignorance is bliss, eh?

I know WHO he is, but I'd probably miss him if he appeared in a film.

[johncorrigan]

Ignorance is bliss, eh?

I know WHO he is, but I'd probably miss him if he appeared in a film.

Dunkirk was certainly far superior to the new Bladerunner which was SO long and SO slow. I mean it looked good but they could have clipped an hour off the 2 hours and 40 minutes. The premise was set in 30 minutes so it shouldn't have taken that amount of time. The original is one of my all time favourites and I was attracted by the Director who directed 'Arrival' last year, which I loved. There is a great short that's been made that's set in 2048 which I think is worth a watch, especially if you saw the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ9Os8cP_gg

[MrGongGong]

Dunkirk was certainly far superior to the new Bladerunner which was SO long and SO slow. I mean it looked good but they could have clipped an hour off the 2 hours and 40 minutes. The premise was set in 30 minutes so it shouldn't have taken that amount of time. The original is one of my all time favourites and I was attracted by the Director who directed 'Arrival' last year, which I loved. There is a great short that's been made that's set in 2048 which I think is worth a watch, especially if you saw the original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ9Os8cP_gg

Lots of people have said that
but I didn't think it was "too long" at all
I liked the pace and the visual and sound design

It's good to be immersed for a long time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgzZ_nLOJJE

[Richard Barrett]

Lots of people have said that
but I didn't think it was "too long" at all
I liked the pace and the visual and sound design

It's good to be immersed for a long time

I didn't think it was too long, but I did think it was a typical Hollywood sequel in many ways, and striking how in 2017 a supposedly intelligent film can still use female characters only as props in the development of the male ones.