German film in which a teacher attempts a social experiment with his class to ask the question, could a dictatorship rise in modern Germany? This is a very interesting yet disturbing look at how people can become truly devoted to a cause without understanding it.
Great character development and a shocking ending make it compulsive viewing IMO.
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.” - Carl Jung
Slumdog Millionaire by Danny 'I'm not doing Bond' Boyle.
I'd seen it before, settled down to watch it with my 84-year old Daily Mail reading Dad, who was not so interested in the social content and more in the answers to the quiz questions.
Got to say, the underrated star really is the smug and slimey quiz show host! He carries the movie really, cos Dev Patel is very lowkey, not bad but a bit passive. The former would make a great Bond villain.
As for Boyle, he is a bit all style no substance. Well, okay, a bit of substance but he tends to base his movies around a new angle or theme, and Bond ain't that. Slumdog did offer a glimpse into another world though, in the way the Bond films once did. It is however all fast editing and seemingly reliant on a non-stop soundtrack of music, like Trainspotting was. Highly enjoyable, but can he manage without it? Otherwise it's like Scorcese's films when he drops the voice over confiding to the camera angle - nowadays it can fall flat.
Well, it wasn't terrible. But it wasn't very good either. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig secure this film a 5/10 mark. But if it wasn't for them, then well...
Well, it wasn't terrible. But it wasn't very good either. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig secure this film a 5/10 mark. But if it wasn't for them, then well...
Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime (USA), this has to be one of the luckiest breaks for any documentary director ever. I almost recommend not reading about it or watching trailers if you don't already know it. It has high reviews and did well at Sundance, and I am not surprised. The film follows the Siegals, owners of Westgate Resorts. The company is the world's largest time-share company.
The initial premise for the film is to follow the wealthy couple as they build the largest home in America, an adaptation of the palace of Versailles. But damn, just when you think it will be an actually interesting and real blend of Anna Nicole Smith and Keeping Up with the Kardashians, it takes a twist and becomes a timely and raw documentary.
I was really pleasantly surprised at how my stereotyping and judgments at the beginning of the film, intentionally promoted by the director, ended up in a way different place due to the events of the film.
Salmon Fishing in The Yemen-
Starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.
Love the two actors in this film and I would love to see both of them pop up in a Bond Film.
The film was interesting and worth my while. Loved the locals of Scotland, England and Yemen.
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
The last movie I watched in the movies was The Host which was really good. Definitely better than Twilight anyway even if for no other reason that it has Radioactive by Imagine Dragons in it which is like the coolest song ever!
I just finished watching So Undercover online which was actually far better than I had anticipated. I only watched it in the first place because I was extremely bored and Josh Bowman was in it but I was pleasantly surprised... even if it is a Miley Cyrus movie. Kinda along the same line as Miss Congeniality
"You were fantastic! We're free!"
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan."
Got up earlet this morning, to let the dog out,
and lo and behold Sean Connerys 1957 HELL DRIVERS was on
on BBC 2, it was a bit of a whos who of the British film industry
good film
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Chrichton's novel about genetically engineered dinosaurs running amok on a remote Costa Rican island gets a shiny new 3d post conversion makeover.
The film itself holds up surprisingly well; it is one of Spielberg's more well paced and lively movies and the CG and animatronic dinosaur visuals still impress some 20 years on from its initial release. About the only thing that really dates it are the archaic computer file systems that Lex uses to save the day at the end.
In terms of the 3D, the conversion actually works really well for nearly all of the movie's running time. There is a nice, visible sense of depth throughout which adds a more expansive sense of space to the wide open vistas while also giving a greater sense of claustrophobia in scenes such as the one where the T-Rex attacks the jeeps. The scene of the raptors stalking the kids in the kitchen also benefits from 3D as it adds an extra layer of realism and tension and you get a much better sense of the spaces being occupied by the dinosaurs and the kids. There isn't much in the way of popouts out of the screen but a late scene of Lex falling thru a suspended cieling and a raptor lunging towards the camera elicited some good squeals from the audience and even got me to jump a bit in my seat. So overall a very well done and worthwhile 3D conversion (done by the same wizards that converted Titanic and with Spielberg's input and blessing) that has gotten some very positive reviews from even some of the most ardent 3D detractors.
If you've never seen Jurassic Park, you really should check out the movie that started the whole dinosaur craze and the new 3D presentation enhances the experience even further.
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Chrichton's novel about genetically engineered dinosaurs running amok on a remote Costa Rican island gets a shiny new 3d post conversion makeover.
The film itself holds up surprisingly well; it is one of Spielberg's more well paced and lively movies and the CG and animatronic dinosaur visuals still impress some 20 years on from its initial release. About the only thing that really dates it are the archaic computer file systems that Lex uses to save the day at the end.
In terms of the 3D, the conversion actually works really well for nearly all of the movie's running time. There is a nice, visible sense of depth throughout which adds a more expansive sense of space to the wide open vistas while also giving a greater sense of claustrophobia in scenes such as the one where the T-Rex attacks the jeeps. The scene of the raptors stalking the kids in the kitchen also benefits from 3D as it adds an extra layer of realism and tension and you get a much better sense of the spaces being occupied by the dinosaurs and the kids. There isn't much in the way of popouts out of the screen but a late scene of Lex falling thru a suspended cieling and a raptor lunging towards the camera elicited some good squeals from the audience and even got me to jump a bit in my seat. So overall a very well done and worthwhile 3D conversion (done by the same wizards that converted Titanic and with Spielberg's input and blessing) that has gotten some very positive reviews from even some of the most ardent 3D detractors.
If you've never seen Jurassic Park, you really should check out the movie that started the whole dinosaur craze and the new 3D presentation enhances the experience even further.
Checking it out tomorrow. I remember jumping out of my seat when the girl was hanging from the ceiling then the dino jumping up. There's a few other scenes I'm excited to see in 3-D also, like the Arrival at the island by way of helicopter, the first scene that shows the Bronto easting from the trees and the final scene in the lobby with the T-Rex and the banner falling from the ceiling. I better get to bed soon or I'll oversleep.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Jurassic Park 3-D
Oh man, JP was a great film when I first saw it in 1993. 20 years later it returns to the big screen and in 3-D. This film is still great and the 3-D adds to it. As I mentioned above I was excited to see certain scenes in 3-D, and those scenes delivered, big time!!! I even forgot a scene or two that translated very well into 3-D (i.e. The T-Rex attacking the Explorer and the Explorer falling into the trees and then the rescue from the Explorer from the trees). Great stuff, go see it quickly because it's in limited release.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Roger Moore was a high point. Van Damme was a low point. The film wasn't particularly any good, although the fight tournament was somewhat entertaining in places. Reminded me of Street Fighter. Not a great film, but not terrible, and it's not like I was expecting much from it anyway. I'd rather have it than cowboys and aliens though (the last film I watched before this). 5/10
I remember reading in his autobiography that Roger Moore had
the worst time making this Film, He felt that he'd been lied to, and
didn't have a happy time.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I remember reading in his autobiography that Roger Moore had
the worst time making this Film, He felt that he'd been lied to, and
didn't have a happy time.
Babes in bikinis, assault rifles, sex and sun, what's not to like?
Quite a bit really. Was hoping for some guilty pleasure soft porn nostalgia, well I felt guilty alright, watching a matinee in the Curzon Soho with a handful of similarly aged single blokes who ought to know better, handful being the operative word.
Of course, this should have been Tarantinoesque, and he might have done it better, it panders to his foot fetish at times anyhow. It's about college girls who do a hold-up to fund their spring break to Miami, a kind of Ibiza for Americans, where they get laid and do drugs and clubbing in the sun.
It's a bit of a cliche though, it might almost be like those 1950s teen exploitation movies which begin with a bit of wording saying 'We made this film to show a side of life that goes unreported, as a warning to how this world is going' etc etc. Reminded me of another morality tale, Thirteen, that I switched off half way through.
You can't easily do soft porn now, as hard core has made it unsustainable; you can't put toothpaste back in the tube. It doesn't matter how many bare breasts you show, it's no biggie. Back in the 70s anyway they knew how to exploit that, with winsome female faces that might almost have been wholesome but weren't. Now all the gals look hardcore, and if you can't see them do head, they have nothing else to offer. And oddly, though any 10 year old can click on a hardcore flick, you can't show anything like that in a movie, so it's lost its raison d'etre.
The film is a bit pretentious though, it has these Terrence Malik moments. The soundtrack is pretty good. None of the gals in the gang are charismatic or that hot imo, so you don't really care. When the get bailed from jail by this gangster kingpin (James Franco) it doesn't work as Franco puts in a good performance but is devoid of charisma. You think, maybe that's the point, to deglamorise the lifestyle. But making a Hollywood movie that aims to deglamorise American life and make it banal seems a bit odd, like a married man cracking off thinking about his wife when she's lying beside him in bed.
It's one of those films that seems to aim to make hedonism boring.
Watched "Shaun of the Dead " again last night, only my
second viewing. Brilliant British comedy Horror. -{ .
I love the opening titles showing shoppers wandering
around a suppermarket, Showing how we are almost
Zombies anyway. )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
The Paperboy, matinee at Prince Charles cinema, only £4 if you're a member.
About worth that. Kind of sleazy noirish Deep South in the 60s tale. It's interesting, with acting chops from everyone there: Nicole Kidman as sexy white trash sticking up for her incarcerated on a murder charge fella played by a sleazy John Cusack, with Matthew McConaughey and a very young, handsome and tanned Zac Efron lounging around in his white underpants, playing the journalists out to reveal he's innocent, there's a black journo in tow too, David Oyelowo who I only name so as to not look racist; he's not known to me. Macy Gray too, the narrator and maid of the family, not a bad performance.
It's very dialogue heavy, perhaps not really as sexy as it ought to be, and ultimately doesn't amount to that much, but it's hard to justify its low 5.7 rating on the imdb.
He was a standout as Danny on the series Spooks (aka MI-5 in the U.S.) for a few seasons. He also appeared in Red Tails, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Lincoln. Good actor!
Oh right, well I should have known him from Spooks. He is a good actor, but oddly he plays a Londoner in this film and, well spoiler of sorts
his accent isn't too convincing and I thought, oh, they've got in an American to play a Londoner and they've just stereotyped the accent. However, it was redeemed when it was later revealed that his character is really an American pretending to be a Londoner, because that gets him an 'in' in the Miami community. So Oyelowo (pronounced oh-yellow accor to imdb) is a British guy playing an American guy pretending to be an Londoner!
Impeccably cast French drama about a bored couple who become engrossed in a pupil's 'What I did in my weekend' course work, which involved inviegling his way into a middle class household via a fellow pupil who needs help with his maths coursework.
It's absorbing, gradually not that plausible but you go with it, and increasingly creepy as the bookish, Woody Allenesque teacher tries to steer the proceedings, taking the teenage kid aside for private tutorial to see how the scenario proceeds. Perhaps only the French could do this kind of thing, though maybe Alan Bennet could have had a bash at it, casting Maggie Smith in her younger days as the wife instead of Kristin Scott Thomas, who of course is bilingual and speaks fluent French.
I'm sort of looking forward to that Look of Love film with Steve Coogan about Soho porn baron Paul Raymond even though it looks a bit dodgy ie rubbish or not quite up to par.
Comments
German film in which a teacher attempts a social experiment with his class to ask the question, could a dictatorship rise in modern Germany? This is a very interesting yet disturbing look at how people can become truly devoted to a cause without understanding it.
Great character development and a shocking ending make it compulsive viewing IMO.
I'd seen it before, settled down to watch it with my 84-year old Daily Mail reading Dad, who was not so interested in the social content and more in the answers to the quiz questions.
Got to say, the underrated star really is the smug and slimey quiz show host! He carries the movie really, cos Dev Patel is very lowkey, not bad but a bit passive. The former would make a great Bond villain.
As for Boyle, he is a bit all style no substance. Well, okay, a bit of substance but he tends to base his movies around a new angle or theme, and Bond ain't that. Slumdog did offer a glimpse into another world though, in the way the Bond films once did. It is however all fast editing and seemingly reliant on a non-stop soundtrack of music, like Trainspotting was. Highly enjoyable, but can he manage without it? Otherwise it's like Scorcese's films when he drops the voice over confiding to the camera angle - nowadays it can fall flat.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Well, it wasn't terrible. But it wasn't very good either. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig secure this film a 5/10 mark. But if it wasn't for them, then well...
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime (USA), this has to be one of the luckiest breaks for any documentary director ever. I almost recommend not reading about it or watching trailers if you don't already know it. It has high reviews and did well at Sundance, and I am not surprised. The film follows the Siegals, owners of Westgate Resorts. The company is the world's largest time-share company.
The initial premise for the film is to follow the wealthy couple as they build the largest home in America, an adaptation of the palace of Versailles. But damn, just when you think it will be an actually interesting and real blend of Anna Nicole Smith and Keeping Up with the Kardashians, it takes a twist and becomes a timely and raw documentary.
I was really pleasantly surprised at how my stereotyping and judgments at the beginning of the film, intentionally promoted by the director, ended up in a way different place due to the events of the film.
If my vagueness and attempt to let you be surprised aren't convincing enough, feel free to check some info and reviews on RottenTomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_queen_of_versailles/
Starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.
Love the two actors in this film and I would love to see both of them pop up in a Bond Film.
The film was interesting and worth my while. Loved the locals of Scotland, England and Yemen.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I just finished watching So Undercover online which was actually far better than I had anticipated. I only watched it in the first place because I was extremely bored and Josh Bowman was in it but I was pleasantly surprised... even if it is a Miley Cyrus movie. Kinda along the same line as Miss Congeniality
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan."
and lo and behold Sean Connerys 1957 HELL DRIVERS was on
on BBC 2, it was a bit of a whos who of the British film industry
good film
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Chrichton's novel about genetically engineered dinosaurs running amok on a remote Costa Rican island gets a shiny new 3d post conversion makeover.
The film itself holds up surprisingly well; it is one of Spielberg's more well paced and lively movies and the CG and animatronic dinosaur visuals still impress some 20 years on from its initial release. About the only thing that really dates it are the archaic computer file systems that Lex uses to save the day at the end.
In terms of the 3D, the conversion actually works really well for nearly all of the movie's running time. There is a nice, visible sense of depth throughout which adds a more expansive sense of space to the wide open vistas while also giving a greater sense of claustrophobia in scenes such as the one where the T-Rex attacks the jeeps. The scene of the raptors stalking the kids in the kitchen also benefits from 3D as it adds an extra layer of realism and tension and you get a much better sense of the spaces being occupied by the dinosaurs and the kids. There isn't much in the way of popouts out of the screen but a late scene of Lex falling thru a suspended cieling and a raptor lunging towards the camera elicited some good squeals from the audience and even got me to jump a bit in my seat. So overall a very well done and worthwhile 3D conversion (done by the same wizards that converted Titanic and with Spielberg's input and blessing) that has gotten some very positive reviews from even some of the most ardent 3D detractors.
If you've never seen Jurassic Park, you really should check out the movie that started the whole dinosaur craze and the new 3D presentation enhances the experience even further.
but I really enjoyed it. Both male leads are terrific. -{
Checking it out tomorrow. I remember jumping out of my seat when the girl was hanging from the ceiling then the dino jumping up. There's a few other scenes I'm excited to see in 3-D also, like the Arrival at the island by way of helicopter, the first scene that shows the Bronto easting from the trees and the final scene in the lobby with the T-Rex and the banner falling from the ceiling. I better get to bed soon or I'll oversleep.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
ITV4 "your a big man but your outa shape for me its a livin"
Oh man, JP was a great film when I first saw it in 1993. 20 years later it returns to the big screen and in 3-D. This film is still great and the 3-D adds to it. As I mentioned above I was excited to see certain scenes in 3-D, and those scenes delivered, big time!!! I even forgot a scene or two that translated very well into 3-D (i.e. The T-Rex attacking the Explorer and the Explorer falling into the trees and then the rescue from the Explorer from the trees). Great stuff, go see it quickly because it's in limited release.
Roger Moore was a high point. Van Damme was a low point. The film wasn't particularly any good, although the fight tournament was somewhat entertaining in places. Reminded me of Street Fighter. Not a great film, but not terrible, and it's not like I was expecting much from it anyway. I'd rather have it than cowboys and aliens though (the last film I watched before this). 5/10
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
the worst time making this Film, He felt that he'd been lied to, and
didn't have a happy time.
I heard that on imdb yesterday. Poor old Rog
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
"I KNOW you didn't kill him!"
Babes in bikinis, assault rifles, sex and sun, what's not to like?
Quite a bit really. Was hoping for some guilty pleasure soft porn nostalgia, well I felt guilty alright, watching a matinee in the Curzon Soho with a handful of similarly aged single blokes who ought to know better, handful being the operative word.
Of course, this should have been Tarantinoesque, and he might have done it better, it panders to his foot fetish at times anyhow. It's about college girls who do a hold-up to fund their spring break to Miami, a kind of Ibiza for Americans, where they get laid and do drugs and clubbing in the sun.
It's a bit of a cliche though, it might almost be like those 1950s teen exploitation movies which begin with a bit of wording saying 'We made this film to show a side of life that goes unreported, as a warning to how this world is going' etc etc. Reminded me of another morality tale, Thirteen, that I switched off half way through.
You can't easily do soft porn now, as hard core has made it unsustainable; you can't put toothpaste back in the tube. It doesn't matter how many bare breasts you show, it's no biggie. Back in the 70s anyway they knew how to exploit that, with winsome female faces that might almost have been wholesome but weren't. Now all the gals look hardcore, and if you can't see them do head, they have nothing else to offer. And oddly, though any 10 year old can click on a hardcore flick, you can't show anything like that in a movie, so it's lost its raison d'etre.
The film is a bit pretentious though, it has these Terrence Malik moments. The soundtrack is pretty good. None of the gals in the gang are charismatic or that hot imo, so you don't really care. When the get bailed from jail by this gangster kingpin (James Franco) it doesn't work as Franco puts in a good performance but is devoid of charisma. You think, maybe that's the point, to deglamorise the lifestyle. But making a Hollywood movie that aims to deglamorise American life and make it banal seems a bit odd, like a married man cracking off thinking about his wife when she's lying beside him in bed.
It's one of those films that seems to aim to make hedonism boring.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Just weird
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
second viewing. Brilliant British comedy Horror. -{ .
I love the opening titles showing shoppers wandering
around a suppermarket, Showing how we are almost
Zombies anyway.
About worth that. Kind of sleazy noirish Deep South in the 60s tale. It's interesting, with acting chops from everyone there: Nicole Kidman as sexy white trash sticking up for her incarcerated on a murder charge fella played by a sleazy John Cusack, with Matthew McConaughey and a very young, handsome and tanned Zac Efron lounging around in his white underpants, playing the journalists out to reveal he's innocent, there's a black journo in tow too, David Oyelowo who I only name so as to not look racist; he's not known to me. Macy Gray too, the narrator and maid of the family, not a bad performance.
It's very dialogue heavy, perhaps not really as sexy as it ought to be, and ultimately doesn't amount to that much, but it's hard to justify its low 5.7 rating on the imdb.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
He was a standout as Danny on the series Spooks (aka MI-5 in the U.S.) for a few seasons. He also appeared in Red Tails, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Lincoln. Good actor!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Impeccably cast French drama about a bored couple who become engrossed in a pupil's 'What I did in my weekend' course work, which involved inviegling his way into a middle class household via a fellow pupil who needs help with his maths coursework.
It's absorbing, gradually not that plausible but you go with it, and increasingly creepy as the bookish, Woody Allenesque teacher tries to steer the proceedings, taking the teenage kid aside for private tutorial to see how the scenario proceeds. Perhaps only the French could do this kind of thing, though maybe Alan Bennet could have had a bash at it, casting Maggie Smith in her younger days as the wife instead of Kristin Scott Thomas, who of course is bilingual and speaks fluent French.
I'm sort of looking forward to that Look of Love film with Steve Coogan about Soho porn baron Paul Raymond even though it looks a bit dodgy ie rubbish or not quite up to par.
Roger Moore 1927-2017