What DVD have you just watched?

Storyline was interesting but I was underwhelmed by the whole piece and didn't get the supposed tension. Perhaps this was because the ending was obvious from the outset. I also thought highly predictable in parts.

Must have been a thin year at the Oscars and BAFTAs?

Action packed and good fun. Not sure how the character credits got done on this e.g. how Vin Diesel 'featured' as Groot and Karen Gillan was unrecognisable by features and voice to my eyes and ears.

OK as it went but not a shadow against the other recent Marvel offerings IMV.

Well, I loved it. Some clever humour, excellent characters and a wonderful soundtrack of super 70's pop.

Tony -

I plead little knowledge of 1970's pop, save ELO and Status Quo - it was a bad time! Worked all day Saturdays to afford a handful of double albums which, individually, cost a day's pay back then (IIRC).

I'm going to re-watch this on big screen. It could be my little screen minimised some of the action and character detailing. We'll see. Was good fun. 

Excellent miniseries based on short stories taking place in Maine by Elizabeth Strout. Very well acted.

HL,

I have to say I first saw Argo at the local independent cinema (Kino Hawkhurst) and in spite of knowing the story fairly well beforehand, I found that the the tension was almost overwhelming and I was on the edge of my seat throughout.  Which was a great trick, because in spite of knowing the outcome,the film still made you think that they would be uncovered or arrested at any moment.  The airport scene was real heart-in-mouth stuff.  I felt it deserved the awards.  

Perhaps the small screen really does diminish film.  Or maybe there were other distractions for you; For me, watching a film is like being in a kind of spell - I find that I cannot have a laptop, iPad or iPhone around when I watch a film - too distracting and if attention is drawn to them even for a moment, the spell of the film is broken.  Try it and see for yourself.

I totally agree with you.

Thanks Ewemon, I'll definitely check out Unbroken. 

It's certainly more of a big-screen type film Mr Happy Listener, and it's got superb multichannel sound on the BluRay. But, hey, films like music are down to personal preferences.

I bought a copy of the soundtrack, and it's great to my old ears :-

I saw this the other day and to be honest I didn't understand what the fuss was about:

Every time Hollywood produces a film about itself they all think that is has to be a masterpiece.

We watched this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on the true story of how the Gay community got together in support of the miners during the awful 1984-5 strike, it's funny and sad, with great acting from a clutch of british stalwarts. The ending is particularly touching.

Highly recommended!

I have to agree with you there Tony, Pride is a really enjoyable film.  The kind we do really well in the UK.

Watched this last night.  I've tried watching a few times over the years and on each and every occasion got bored because for me the middle section of the film got bogged down in the lead's (Clooney) relationship with his wife.  On this occasion I preserved to the end.  Can't say it's a SF film I'd recommend but the film does pick up in the final third leaving a SF ending worth thinking about.

M 

As one of the Directors is a friend and our company had a bit part in the film.

Watched this last night. I do love Guy Ritchie's movies.  Though now very familiar there are some scenes in this that still make we laugh out loud. The 'Archie-slap' scene is priceless and I think no matter how many movies I see Mark Strong in, and I think he's a good actor, I will always think of him as Archie.

The closing credits say RocknRoller will be back but goodness that sequel is taking a long time coming.  Come on Guy, pull your finger out! 

I expected more based on the compelling topic of breaking the Enigma code. 

Well, I went to the cinema for this, and when the DVD came out recently, I got it.

This is film I could watch many more times without disappointment. Of course many more than Turing had their part in the Code-breaking, but it is a film-drama, and a compelling one.

And for the last film I watched on DVD, it was with friends over the weekend:

JB Priestly's, An Inspector Calls.

With Alastair Sim. Marvellous in every way. Made in 1954, and set in 1912 ...

ATB from George

A reasonable release onto DVD of Alistair MacLean's Fear is the Key from 1973.  I say reasonable because at least the print is pretty good considering the age and it's an anamorphic picture at the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. However, it still leaves gaping holes in the plot and character development and you get the feeling it was a much longer film that was fairly butchered in the editing to get it down to 101 minutes.  I last saw this film as a schoolboy and there were certain elements that really stuck in the mind - a great car chase, a cool hard-man in Barry Newman, lovely Suzy Kendall, and of course, that final scene (I won't spoil it).  Oh, and a very young Ben Kingsley in his first outing as a psychopathic thug.  Dated and flawed but worth watching if you've never seen it.

Jake Gyllenhaal does an amazing turn as one of most unpleasant people I've ever seen on film. Disturbing and a reflection of the amoral business of sensationalised TV news stories.

Excellent.

Hi Richard,

I remember watching this when it was released ....I was hugely disappointed. I had worked my way through all the MacLean novels and quiet enjoyed this one, which the film seemed to largely ignore when the screenplay was produced; an early lesson in an oft repeated formula.

M

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_and_Pictures_(film)

On the light side but worth watching.

Like me, I'm sure some of you will look back with fond memories of Moviedrome on BBC2 where each week presenter by Alex Cox would introduce a favourite cult film.  This last year I decided to work my way through the Moviedrome list.  While there were some obscurities in the choices, most have in time become part of the classic canon.  However, others have been weighed down by the sheer morass of forgettable B movies that have aimed to replicate their cult appeal and failed miserably.  One such is Alligator, written by John Sayles, who also wrote The Howling.  So easy to dismiss without a thought as just another Jaws rip-off, but here is actually one of the finest low-budget B movies of its kind.  I first saw this when I was at school and 32 years on it still entertains, even though it's hilariously dated in so many ways.

The Anchor Bay DVD is a good clean anamorphic transfer with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and even comes with a DTS 5.1 soundtrack.  Alligator 2 is also thrown is as a second disc with suitably lurid picture - makes a perfect coaster to scare great Aunts etc..