BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Recently watched movies.

Bronte89 · September 28, 2014 5:39 pm

I watched Walk The Line on DVD. A very sad and moving film.

besleybean · September 28, 2014 5:48 pm

Is that the Johnny Cash one?

Davina · September 29, 2014 11:36 am

It is a great film though eh! I thought Joachim Phoenix was just mind-blowingly fantastic in it. It definitely pitches up some big emotional material.

tonnaree · September 29, 2014 11:50 am

besleybean wrote:
Is that the Johnny Cash one?

Yes BB. It's the Johnny Cash bio-pic. And it is fantastic.

I saw "The Maze Runner" last weekend and it was very good. Had not read the books so I didn't know what to expect. Glad they are not wasting time on filming the second book though because it does leave things very open ended.

eurydike · September 29, 2014 1:38 pm

The last film I saw at the cinema was "Der Kreis" ("The Circle" in English).

Probably the best film so far this year.
It's a true story and incredibly hurtful, frightening, touching and simply beautiful at the same time.
A wonderful lesson in still quite recent history. Precious and very recommended!

besleybean · September 29, 2014 4:11 pm

Aw.

Liberty · October 5, 2014 10:15 am

I recently watched Dredd (2012) on impulse. I used to love the comics(back when 2000AD seemed a long time in the future!), but was disappointed with the Stallone film a few years back.    I meant to watch a few minutes of Dredd to just to see what it looked like, but ended up being drawn in and watching the whole film. I was very pleasantly surprised! It's such fun watching something expecting it to be rubbish, then it turns out to be rather good! The character and the setting seemed true to what I remembered of the comics. (The helmet stays on throughout!).

It's quite violent, so avoid if that will bother you, but it is rather cartoonish (although graphic) violence: the same sort of stuff that you might see in the comics.   Some of the violence is in slow motion (it was a 3D film): many of the characters take a drug which slows down the perception of time, so sequences in which they are injured or killed are shown in slow motion.   Oddly, the slow motion parts are rather beautiful and magical in comparism to the other dreary, gritty shots inside the run-down tower block - I suppose it shows why people are so entranced by the drug.

Dredd has a female rookie companion, and I appreciated seeing a strong female character in a, oh, I'm going to say it, bromance (it reminded me a little of Robocop), while avoiding her being a love interest (I'm not happy about Uhura and Spock, you know).    I wouldn't have asked for Dredd to have a companion (I'd remembered him as a loner), but really warmed to Olivia Thirlby's character.

There's a little comichere, which gives some background to the villain.

I would love to see a sequel, but apparently the film flopped in a big way, so I don't know how likely that is. What a shame.

Last edited by Liberty (October 5, 2014 10:21 am)

Davina · October 5, 2014 11:42 am

Hey Liberty! I loved Dredd! I loved it so much I have watched it more than once. It has an 18 Cert here, because of the violence but also the drug use. I thought it was a terrific film. Karl Urban was just fantastic as Dredd. I some of the slow-mo/bullet time effects were brilliant. The whole cast were really good! I agree, not for those who don't like violence (although much was quite stylised) but can really recommend it.

Last night I watched 'Bad Seed' on Youtube. Made in 2000 and directed by Jon Bokenkamp. Main cast: Luke Wilson (you know Owen's brother), Dennis Farina and Norman Reedus (I confess, my real reason for watching it). Basically the plot is that Sheldon's (Luke Wilson) wife has been having an affair with Jonathan (Norman Reedus). She tells her husband, later she is found severely injured at home and dies. Sheldon thinks her lover has murdered her, Jonathan thinks her husband has. There then plays out an ulitmately tragic series of events. Dennis Farins plays a PI that Sheldon hires.

This film really makes you think: about infidelity, life/work balance, bad choices, misunderstandings, how people react to tragedy. Personally, I thought both Dennis and Norman were great but was honestly disappointed in Luke's performance (I never believed he wasn't acting and just seemed to be phoning in his performance at times). This won't be everyone's cup of tea as a film but it is one which makes you think and certainly it stayed with me. The pressure builds well although the pacing is a bit off at times. You can feel sympathy for all characters although not as much for the main protagonist as you should do.

I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to think about a story they see unfolding.

Bronte89 · October 7, 2014 12:32 pm

besleybean wrote:
Is that the Johnny Cash one?

Yes, its a great film! I recommend it.

tonnaree · October 8, 2014 12:38 pm

Saw "Gone Girl" last night. It was fantastic! I had read the book and my husband had not so it was fun watching him watch the movie!

The book is very enjoyable but I would say if you haven't read it by this point, go ahead and see the movie. It's a better experiance if you don't know all the twists and turns.

Russell · October 8, 2014 4:23 pm

tonnaree wrote:
Saw "Gone Girl" last night. It was fantastic! I had read the book and my husband had not so it was fun watching him watch the movie!

The book is very enjoyable but I would say if you haven't read it by this point, go ahead and see the movie. It's a better experiance if you don't know all the twists and turns.

Oh, cool… thanks! Been hearing so many raves for a while, for both, and sounded great. Kept thinking to myself 'geez, I should really read that to see what they mean', then oddly just the other day, my mom mentioned wishing she had someone to go see certain big films with, and had I seen that one yet? (no) Had I read it? (no) So I was wondering what the experience would be like do one first or the other...

tonnaree · October 8, 2014 5:33 pm

Go Russell, it's a great film!

MartaSt · October 8, 2014 6:42 pm

I've finally watched "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and in my opinion it was very good sequel. I once again fell in love with Michael Fassbender , he is a very talented actor.

Russell · October 9, 2014 3:38 am

tonnaree wrote:
Go Russell, it's a great film!

Yes, ma'am!

Davina · October 9, 2014 2:37 pm

Yes, Marta! He is a very fine thing, as the Irish say.

Davina · October 11, 2014 2:00 pm

The Boondock Saints. Wasn't especially well received back in 1999 but honestly this was one of the best films I have watched in quite some time. I can see why it has since become a cult film with a solid following. It is a definite 18 Cert here...very sweary and quite violent but gosh, it is is well thought out, innovative (especially for when it was made) and just all round great! It reminds me a little of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels except it isn't much like that...set in Boston (not UK), two vigilante devout R.C. brothers (rather than centred on the criminals). Main cast: Willem Dafoe (powerhouse performance), Billy Connolly (yes, the Scottish comedian but here being Irish), the brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus). .

If you don't like swearing (one short scene alone would in itself earn the 18 Cert from the censors here, as the F-bomb is used a lot but to great comic effect) or violence, then this is probably not the film for you. I absolutely LOVED this film and it made me hoot loudly with laughter very many times. It is quite some time since I have felt like applauding a film wildly at the end. With this film I did.

OnlyinWestwood · October 26, 2014 4:30 am

I hope you all saw Pride! Such a fantastic film, with Andrew in it!

Liberty · October 26, 2014 7:13 am

Yes, I saw it and wrote a little about it in its own thread! I loved it - I'm surprised there hasn't been more fuss about it here. Maybe it's not released outside the UK? I'd definitely recommend it for renting if people don't get to see it in the cinema.

besleybean · October 26, 2014 8:35 am

I just saw The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes last night.
I should have seen it a lot sooner, but there was technical glitch, which I won't bore you with,
Anyhow, obviously I had to watch it as it's cited by both Mark and Steven as their fave version.
Well I'm glad I saw it, it was very good and I did enjoy it for a number of reasons.
But I can't honestly say I would choose it as my favourite.
I could certainly see the influence on BBC Sherlock.(and actually on Dr Who, but that's a whole other story!)
But I feel empowered now against anybody who quotes it as a Johnlock base...er no,
We do however see the origin of the gay joke, which Holmes in particular seems to enjoy at Watson's expense.

Harriet · October 26, 2014 9:52 am

I saw Accattone last night. A weird and exciting story about pimps, prostitutes and thieves in 1960ies' Roman slums. I love the way Pasolini works with non-professional actors he discovered on the streets where the movie is set.
I don't know if Franco Citti, the main actor, was also casted that way, but it won him a BAFTA nomination in 1963.