Films! good, bad, recomendations, and general film talk

[_tom_]

On the subject of Brits doing bad American accents, Ray Winstone in The Departed, anybody? :lol:

[Plexi Ken]

Grown Ups - Typical  Adam Sandler stuff, if you like him you'll love this - I don't, so didn't. No plot, jokes that aren't even slightly funny, constant twee sentimental set pieces... just an awful film.

Agora - Rachel Weisz puts in a fine performance as the lead in this historical musing on the damaged cause by religion. It has some good moments but it tries (and fails) to bridge the gap between thoughtful morality play, sword & sandal epic action, women as second class citizens, and a love triangle crossing the class divide. It would have been a much better film if it has followed one of those topics and explored it thoroughly, not all four at the same time. However, I'll watch anything set in the ancient world and quite enjoyed this, despite it's very obvious flaws.

[Plexi Ken]

Jonah Hex - not a good film but IMO not as bad as the reviews. It's very short, the credits roll at about 71mins but the life left the film some time previously. You've seen everything and heard everything in this movie before, in fact  it's a lot like Wild Wild West! The first 15-20mins aren't too bad but it all just falls apart after that.

[dave_mc]

in other news, chuck is amazing.

should probably clarify this, having watched a bit more- the first two series of chuck are amazing. The third series is still pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the first two (unless it gets better... I'm about halfway through currently). :( If it's not broke, don't fix it, comes to mind :(

I always found it interesting that a super-patriotic country like the USA is so totally accepting of foreign actors playing Americans.  

I've never heard anyone complain about Batman being British, the Joker Australian, Indiana Jones having a Scottish father, even Jack Bauer being Canadian!

yeah, that is weird. I guess at least they're being consistant (i.e. they, generally, do terrible non-american accents but also are very easy on foreigners doing terrible american ones), so that's fair enough.

:)

[Philly Q]

Exam
I'm all in favour of low-budget independent British films, and this psychological thriller is a decent effort.  It's a bit predictable and "stagey" (turns out it's based on a play), and the science fiction element is unnecessary, but not bad.

[Sifu Ben]

in other news, chuck is amazing.

should probably clarify this, having watched a bit more- the first two series of chuck are amazing. The third series is still pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the first two (unless it gets better... I'm about halfway through currently). :( If it's not broke, don't fix it, comes to mind :(

Season 3 doesn't really get going until "Chuck Vs The Beard", and then gets very good very quickly, before losing it's way a bit until a great finale. Season 4 is a bit up and down, but there've been some very good ones so far.

[WezV]

I always found it interesting that a super-patriotic country like the USA is so totally accepting of foreign actors playing Americans. 

and yet when it comes to british tv shows they seem to have to remake them before they can accept them!   2 recent victims are shameless and being human.  I can see why they redid shameless for american audiences - and the changes seem relatively appropriate... then with being human they took it and did a scene for scene copy!!!

[_tom_]

I'll have to give Chuck a go then, me and my mates are always running out of stuff to watch :lol:

Watched Unstoppable the other day. It was shite, but then I expected it to be!

[dave_mc]

^ yeah chuck's great. I had meant to watch it when it came out at the start, but didn't get round to it. Then we (finally) got sky+ so I could just tape all the stuff I didn't want to watch at the time... I stupidly started at series 2, but I bought a bunch of the box sets so I'm more or less up to speed in the right order now (albeit only half-way through series 3).

If you like stuff like chuck there's a bunch of other stuff which is (fairly) similar- by that I mean I like it, anyway. :lol: Psych is pretty great too, as are castle and life, and the mentalist and republic of doyle aren't bad either.

I would say, though- make sure you give chuck a  fair shot. I've watched episodes where, if they were the only episode I'd seen, I'd have almost stopped watching. But once you actually get into it, and realise what they're doing (at first glance it can seem a little shallow and 2-dimensional- it's not), it's awesome. Probably my favourite out of all those shows I've listed- it's probably my new favourite show. But as Sifu Ben said, because when it's good it's so awesome, it can seem a bit up and down.

and yet when it comes to british tv shows they seem to have to remake them before they can accept them!   2 recent victims are shameless and being human.  I can see why they redid shameless for american audiences - and the changes seem relatively appropriate... then with being human they took it and did a scene for scene copy!!!

yeah. I haven't seen either of those you mentioned, but the US definitely does a certain type of TV show (or movie/film) really well- for example, I can't imagine 24, or chuck, or something like that, being anywhere near as good were they made in the UK or Europe. But something like Sherlock was great done in the UK, and I shudder to think what the US is going to do with the steig larssons and the remake of the killing that's currently showing on bbc4 (no spoilers, please, I haven't seen this week's episodes yet :lol: )...

Season 3 doesn't really get going until "Chuck Vs The Beard", and then gets very good very quickly, before losing it's way a bit until a great finale. Season 4 is a bit up and down, but there've been some very good ones so far.

thanks :) yeah, i really shouldn't make my mind up until I've seen more of them. :lol: I've watched another 4 or 5 (when I said it had lost its way, that was the episode before the beard, lol, really bad timing), and it's got awesome again :D :D :D

[dave_mc]

Ah looks like I killed the thread :lol: Anyway, I've watched until the end of series 3 now of chuck, and you were spot-on, Sifu Ben :)

[_tom_]

Harry Brown - very good I thought. Makes me not want to visit London again though :lol:

[WezV]

just watched harry brown - i wondered if it was sponsored by the daily mail!  its well made but aims to be shocking just for the sake of it from the opening scene - which adds little to the story other than to set you on edge.  Then it continues to completely vilify kids who hang around on street corners. 

not trying to ignore the shite that happens in real life - but the film annoyed me.  it does try to take some of the blame away from the youths and put it on their dodgy upbringing - but its an underdeveloped theme.  He 'saves' a female junky in hollywood style, no questions asked of her right to be saved -  then leads a sexually abused male 'hoodie' that clearly needs help to his death!  I was sure this point in the film was going to be when he actually got to understand what led the gang members to that point and be able to actually help one of them out with a 'not the worse, and has clearly suffered enough' character

[WezV]

also - the police chief character made me think of Charlton Heston's cameo in waynes world 2 in a "i know it's a small part but couldn't we have got someone better" kind of way - the guys acting was pants!

[Fourth Feline]

just watched harry brown - i wondered if it was sponsored by the daily mail!  its well made but aims to be shocking just for the sake of it from the opening scene - which adds little to the story other than to set you on edge.  Then it continues to completely vilify kids who hang around on street corners.  

not trying to ignore the shiteee that happens in real life - but the film annoyed me.  it does try to take some of the blame away from the youths and put it on their dodgy upbringing - but its an underdeveloped theme.  He 'saves' a female junky in hollywood style, no questions asked of her right to be saved -  then leads a sexually abused male 'hoodie' that clearly needs help to his death!  I was sure this point in the film was going to be when he actually got to understand what led the gang members to that point and be able to actually help one of them out with a 'not the worse, and has clearly suffered enough' character

Very well put Wez !

I also saw the film for the first time recently, and was irked by the very points you raised. In part,  it reminded me of the 'Fashion' in previous decades for 'It's grim up t'North' type films and plays, usually written by ' Professional Northerners' who were writing the scripts from a Mayfair appartment :

" It's time to go work in t'Mill - but I've only just got in from t'Pit - and haven't yet had time to attack the missus, or abuse a domestic animal ! "

In sharp contrast, I enjoyed Sir Micheal Caine's assured ( and well scripted / filmed ) performance in the re-make of 'Sleuth'.   I was almost determined not to like it - as I enjoyed the original very much, but he held the screen and delivered Harold Pinter's script with an assuredness and quiet intensity that delighted me.

Genuine shame about 'Harry Brown' though, I was so wanting to enjoy it .

[_tom_]

I know what you mean Wez. But tbh I'm sure we could do without most kids who do hang around on street corners/in underpasses :P