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

SolarSystem · January 15, 2016 11:18 pm

I actually liked the film very much when I saw it for the first time last year. It's wonderfully grotesque. And yes, Mads Mikkelsen is a sight to see here... he looks so dopey.

Davina · January 19, 2016 9:21 am

So....even toy I have seen, Spectre, Legend (the film about the Kray twins with both roles played by Tom Hardy...sigh) and Star Wars. I've started a thread for Star Wars as I reckon that a lot may have seen it. Has anyone else seen Legend? Any thoughts? Would you like me to review it? ...

On TV because I missed them when they came out: American Hustle (which I thought was quite good really- Bale and Cooper were excellent I thought) and the utterly WONDERFUL Whiplash.

Has anyone else seen Whiplash? I thought it was a simply amazing film about talent and how it can be unleashed, both good and bad...What interested me especially was the way in which the treatment of the talented drummer by his mentor is so extreme and awful at times but actually produces something spectacularly great. And that whilst this looks so terrible when looking at the medium of music it would, perhaps, be seen as less so in the field of sport... I you have seen it, let me know what you thought. If you haven't then I can unhesitatingly recommend it to you.

Last edited by Davina (January 19, 2016 9:31 am)

Vhanja · January 19, 2016 9:50 am

Yesterday hubbie and I saw Mad Max: Fury Road. I've seen the very first Mad Max movie and of course know about the movies from my childhood.

The world they create was really interesting. I love post-apocalyptic stuff. However, I wished they would've fleshed it out a bit more. What that made was so interesting I would love to learn more of it, but unfortunately this is a pure action movie.

Action movies bore me so I never watch them. However, this is the first one I've seen that managed to keep my interest. Yes, a lot of action, but it was really well done and interesting. Probably because I found the world and setting so interesting. I only wished they would've done more with it, though, it had such a great potential.

SolarSystem · January 19, 2016 1:08 pm

Davina wrote:
Has anyone else seen Whiplash?

Yes, I've seen it, but 'only' on DVD. And I thought it was brilliant. I liked pretty much everything about it. There was so much tension and suspense in this film... and the actors were amazing. J.K. Simmons definitely deserved the Oscar for his role, he was... wow. I never knew how to rate his character, I basically held my breath whenever he was on screen.
Afterwards I had a long conversation with my boyfriend about art and music and what it means to be an artist. I think this film really can spark controversial discussions.

Russell · January 22, 2016 2:38 am

Oo… I really want to see Whiplash, still! And Hardy's performance in Legend! Although more for Hardy than for the story, where Whiplash I can see getting fascinated by the discussion involving art/music/pressure.

Our last movie night, as was to be expected, my friend and I were nostalgic in musing a movie containing a recently passed favorite. As he's a generation older than I, he didn't grow up with the awesomeness of Labyrinth, so I got him curious with my excited nostalgia, since he was a fan of Bowie anyway (and how he kept playing with his eccentric roles/style he took on). Man that was a good kid's film - just the combo of beautiful artistic design, two humans in a world of lavish Henson creatures, a dark fairy tale trope, and great songs. Plus they didn't need to make it cheesy or cute-ify everything back then, and actually had a pretty deep story (and a little dark, if you think about it!) about growing up, keeping your childhood, and loyalty to friends. And… ahem… an incredibly strange-bordering-on-creepy, attractive Goblin King with an impact I didn't understand at the time. Many of you also hold this as an old favorite, or re-watched it again?

kgreen20 · January 22, 2016 3:15 am

I know nothing about Whiplash myself.

For the past week, I've been watching Tolkien movies on DVD. I started a week ago with the animated Rankin/Bass and Bashkin movies, followed by Peter Jackson's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies. All that's left is to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and I plan to watch that tomorrow.

How many of you have seen these movies? Martin Freeman has done such a great job of portraying Bilbo Baggins!

Last edited by kgreen20 (January 22, 2016 3:19 am)

besleybean · January 22, 2016 6:36 am

I saw all of LOTR.
But I preferred The Hobbit films.

kgreen20 · January 22, 2016 6:23 pm

Let me guess--because Martin Freeman had the starring role! =)

besleybean · January 22, 2016 6:47 pm

On the contrary, I was only there for the dragon!

kgreen20 · January 23, 2016 2:48 am

LOL! And of course, we all know who did the dragon's voice. =) (He also did the voice of Sauron.)

besleybean · January 23, 2016 8:28 am

See this is where I'm such a faux Hobbit/LOTR fan.
So that was the voice of Sauron in The Hobbit, was it?
I thought it was the Necromancer, which was Benedict...
I am very easily confused, but it's not something I'm really that concerned about.

kgreen20 · January 24, 2016 1:46 am

Sauron was the Necromancer.

besleybean · January 24, 2016 8:16 am

Ah, hence my confusion...I fail the Middle Earth Certificate!

Liberty · January 24, 2016 8:36 am

Oh, me too! I'm always gettting Sauron and Saruman's names mixed up, just because they share some letters! It's also a little bit confusing to me that the films are the wrong way round (the Hobbit should have been first). I do own a lovely Middle Earth reference book, so no excuses.

Labyrinth is good fun, Russel! I'm old enough to have been too old to see it as a child, but I loved it as an adult, and yes, David Bowie had a different appeal . Have you seen The Man Who Fell to Earth? Bowie is just beautiful in that one. It's years since I've seen it, and this might be a good time to rewatch.

besleybean · January 24, 2016 8:40 am

The latter is my favourite of his films.

Davina · January 24, 2016 4:38 pm

I watched The Man Who Fell to Earth at the cinema when it came out. It was terrific. And yes....I am that old!

Davina · January 24, 2016 4:45 pm

And now I am going to add that we went to see The Revenant last night. Terrific, wonderful film. The acting, especially Leo and Tom was astonishing. The use of sound and the music was very powerful. The cinematography was awe inspiring- such big scale landscape shots, combined with evocative images and close ups such as the breath actually on the camera lense. Special effects were seamless, fight choreography of the highest quality. This is an absolute beast of a film. Very violent in places, full of the sheer hardship and grittiness of the events. Politically aware and powerful too.

As an aside I was pretty sure that much looked like the Canada I know and love, and low and behold my son did some research and most was filmed in Alberta and also in a place called Squamish in British Columbia, which we have visited and driven through many a time. We have even rafted down the river there. This is where the 'bear scene' was filmed. A bit excited to find that out.

besleybean · January 24, 2016 5:07 pm

My son saw The Revenant last too and he also loved it.
I was keen to hear his opinion.
One of my pals went to see it and hated it.
Davina, my son said you really do need to see it on the big screen.
Do you agree?

SolarSystem · January 24, 2016 6:13 pm

Yes, you definitely need to watch this film on the big screen.
And I completely agree with you, Davina, this film is a true masterpiece. I have no idea what kind of camera technique they used (I read somewhere that a new technique was developed for this), but I have never seen anything like this before. The cinematography is absolutely awe-inspiring. The way the camera sometimes sticks to the protagonists and follows them up and down steep mountains... again, I have no idea how they did this, but it's amazing. So is the use of music, most of the time it's as scant as the landscape which makes it all the more powerful.
The acting is flawless. I know that one shouldn't talk about awards all the time, but Leonardo really deserves all the awards for this one. Tom Hardy (if I hadn't known it was him I wouldn't have recognized him) was brilliant, as well.
So... I haven't seen such an amazing film in a long time.

Last edited by SolarSystem (January 24, 2016 6:27 pm)

Yitzock · January 24, 2016 10:44 pm

Davina wrote:
As an aside I was pretty sure that much looked like the Canada I know and love, and low and behold my son did some research and most was filmed in Alberta and also in a place called Squamish in British Columbia, which we have visited and driven through many a time. We have even rafted down the river there. This is where the 'bear scene' was filmed. A bit excited to find that out.

That's pretty cool! I also have driven through/near Squamish, but it was a few years ago. I didn't know where the movie was filmed, so that's a cool bit of trivia.