What DVD have you just watched?

Kevin-W posted:

Did you enjoy it Haim? I thought that it was excellent.

Kevin,

The film did not work for me on various levels leaving me with a feeling that it was more of a mental exercise than anything else.

First, it was hard to accept that any business would leave the decision of hiring or giving bonuses to the employees. For what purpose? You would just be pitting workers against each other, hurting the moral and the cohesion of the work place.

Second, the woman, the more she cried, the more pills she took, the more she pouted the less sympathetic I was becoming, to say the least. I felt like I was watching a loose/loose situation. Or she really didn't care bout her job or she was not well enough to go back to it. Anyway, the effort was always half hearted.

Third, the process of asking for a vote became very repeticious and mechanical. Go knock on a door, ask for a vote, hear that the bonus is important to the person and then mention that your work is also important. Over and over again. I would have rather have her meet all the 16 people together, address them as a group and see the interaction among them. I would also have liked to know a little bit about her work and her relations with the people she was asking for their help.

It was supposed to be a secret ballot in the end but immediately the two groups identified themselves. Why? It could have been a nice touch if some of the workers who chose the bonus came to wish her farewell. Not everything has to be black or white.

In short, I did not find the story very convincing and it left me kind of cold. The wife watched it with me and her reaction was similar. Perhaps we are just a moody couple. Since you liked the film so much I was not going to put my two cents of criticism here but you asked..

Haim

We only made it about a quarter of and hour in to Florence Foster Jenkins, just too excruciating. 

BigH47 posted:

We only made it about a quarter of and hour in to Florence Foster Jenkins, just too excruciating. 

Sometimes one just has to please the wife. It was much less awful than expected, no harm done.

Barbet Schroeder's 1972 movie about chic middle-class French hippies going native in New Guinea, trying to find themselves. As a piece of film-making, it's very much of its time, and is inferior to his debut, More. Like that film, it features a soundtrack by Pink Floyd (released in very different form as the LP Obscured by Clouds)  - which is the main reason it is remembered today.

Still, the film is extraordinarily handsome-looking, thanks to Néstor Almendros' superb cinematography, which makes the most of the stunning New Guinea landscapes and the extraordinary costumes and make-up of the Mapuga tribe. And the Floyd's soundtrack is most effective, particularly in the opening sequence. The BFI blu-ray restoration is, as ever, of the very highest order.

From sky movies:

Affectionate story of young adults mixed with period drama / cliche around late 70s London.

I found it very enjoyable with a breezy plot and attention to detail that you find with this type of British film. Casting of the youngsters, especially the little sister is inspiring - apart from Jonathan Rhys Meyers who doesn't quite have the good looks and swagger of god bless him Joe Strummer.

Yetizone posted:

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Directed by David Fincher. Streamed through Netflix. 

I thoroughly enjoyed all three Stieg Larsson books (and the films with Noomi Rapace too) - was there any real need for a Hollywood remake? No, obviously! But this is a Fincher movie so it could be worthwhile. Interest piqued.

Its actually really very good indeed and in some ways feels more claustrophobic and disturbing than the original. Plus, I actually think Rooney Mara equals if not better betters Noomi Rapace’s depiction of Lisbeth Salander. Also, post Bond, its refreshing to see Daniel Craig playing a vulnerable character. 

An interesting alternative to the original movies, and I’m now slightly disappointed that the Fincher trilogy will never be realised due to poor box office takings. A shame as I was drawn in from the off. 

I made it to the admittedly half empty cinema for the one. It was released between xmas and new year 2011 which I remember thinking was unusual timing.

Loved the film and disappointed to find out that there is to be no follow ups.

Ray

Superb Disney animation, witty script, nice songs (which aren't too frequent), highly imaginative imagery. We loved it, up with the very best of the genre. Superlative picture and 7.1 sound quality.

Haim Ronen posted:

BigH47 posted:

We only made it about a quarter of and hour in to Florence Foster Jenkins, just too excruciating. 

Sometimes one just has to please the wife. It was much less awful than expected, no harm done.

I thought this film was superb, with some great performances, especially by Hugh Grant.

M

Mr Underhill posted:

Haim Ronen posted:

BigH47 posted:

We only made it about a quarter of and hour in to Florence Foster Jenkins, just too excruciating. 

Sometimes one just has to please the wife. It was much less awful than expected, no harm done.

I thought this film was superb, with some great performances, especially by Hugh Grant.

M

Hugh Grant is always Hugh Grant since he always plays himself. Simon Helberg (the pianist) on the other hand gave an excellent performance. 

On Sky+, Finding Dory, or Finding Nemo part 2, more of the same enjoyable not as good (original) as FN, Dory's voice was a bit annoying. We did giggle quite a fe times.

The Nice Guys: Directed by Shane Black. Streamed through Netflix.

I was a little disappointed by this movie. It promised so much with Shane Black at the helm and also the quality of the cast. Somehow the overall tone just didn’t quite gel for me, although there are still things to enjoy. The period detail is just superb. Some very funny dialogue between Gosling and Crowe. Plus, terrific comedic (understated and borderline slapstick) acting from Ryan Gosling, which was a real surprise. Also, I was somewhat distracted by Russell Crowe's current heft! An interesting curiosity of a movie.

I knew it was going to be bad but I gave my word to a friend that I will watch it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucmnTmYpGhI

Mr Underhill posted:

Haim Ronen posted:

BigH47 posted:

We only made it about a quarter of and hour in to Florence Foster Jenkins, just too excruciating. 

Sometimes one just has to please the wife. It was much less awful than expected, no harm done.

I thought this film was superb, with some great performances, especially by Hugh Grant.

M

Yeah, we liked it.

A couple more views of Rogue One on BR, and revisit to Alien on DVD, not seen that for ages.

I was shocked the other day. I took some children to my local library and in the was a Dorland and Kingsley book for Rogue One. What's next, a D&K for Platoon?

M

We all know how this went - they all survived. That doesn't stop this film from being incredibly tense and dramatic, and although the crash (or rather, controlled landing on water) sequences are brilliantly filmed, the main thrust of the film is Sully's and his co-pilot's battle with the FAA investigators who believed the plane could have made a safe landing back at the airport, based on computer simulations. A previous review I read of this film was decidedly lukewarm, but we thought it was wonderful, Tom Hanks just about ideal in the role as the reticent but professional hero pilot. Excellent 4K picture and quite spectacular 7.1 surround sound, maybe the best I've ever heard in the opening sequences when it sounded like an A320 Airbus was flying overhead across our lounge, leaving a trail of awesome bass that rattled our old cottage to it's foundations. Or would have done if it had any.

A couple of minor quibbles - being an American film, no mention is made of the significant contribution the safety features of the A320 Airbus played in ensuring everyone escaped with barely a scratch, and the FAA investigators were portrayed as unnecessarily antagonistic.

Hi Tony,

I agree, I enjoyed the film - and, I agree the portrayal of the FAA was overly dramatised in order to have an antagonist; and I believe the investigating community do not view this film with friendly eyes as it may cause a diminution in co-operation.

M

Unexpectedly decent film, very tense.

DO NOT watch if anywhere near a beach...

Some undefined urge made me quit the film two thirds through.

Whenever it's a warm, sunny day I think of this film. Set in California, it shows the life of a supposedly successful and popular guy who, on a particularly fine day, decides to make his way across the local county by way of other folks' swimming pools. On his journey, the truth of his life is revealed as he meets his neighbours and supposed friends. Burt Lancaster is excellent in the role, and it's one of those films that stick with you. Highly recommended.

Im in search of 4k action camera films. I recently acquired a 4k screen, and want to experience watching a full 4k movie.

Another unfinished business:

The Neon Demon - Written & Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Via Netflix.

This is a puzzler. Some of the framed shots and arresting visuals are exquisitely put together, the use of colour simply beautiful and the overall premise original and unexpected.

But, after an intriguing first half, it becomes rather ponderous and finally degenerates into rather familiar (crass) genre territory. Very interesting but definitely flawed.

I wonder if Nicolas Winding Refn will ever create a near perfect film (Drive) again. At least he’s attempting something different each time.

The great Michael Powell's penultimate feature, made in 1968 while he was in self-imposed exile in Australia after the mauling his notorious (now acknowledged as a masterpiece) Peeping Tom received.

It's the story Brad, of a successful but jaded artist (James Mason) who escapes city life for a remote island on the Great Barrier Reef and also stars a cavalcade of Aussie character acters as well as 22 year old Helen Mirren playing Cora, a 17 year old.

The free-sprited and cheerfully amoral Cora models helps Mason's character rediscover his muse by modelling for him (eventually nude) while she mutually benefits, being able to escape the clutches of her dementedl, gin-swilling grandmother because Brad pays her a dollar an hour to sit for him.

You can see where this is going, can't you? Age of Consent is in many ways a companion piece to Peeping Tom, except that it's shot in the bright sunshine of a tropical island paradise down under, rather than the grubby grey streets on late '50s London. It shares the same moral ambiguity, the same interest in voyeurism.

It was originally pitched as a romantic comedy, but it certainly isn't romantic and neither is it funny. It's a bit of a failure. Even Powell admitted as much, calling it "interesting, nothing more". Still even a Michael Powell failure is going to be better than the vast majority of other people's film. Here the director elevates the original source novel from a piece of fluff to something rather moving (if flawed).

Mason is splendid, as are the supporting cast (even if Mirren seems stilted), while the landscapes and photography (some of it underwater) are superb. But most of all, it has that unique Powell-esque sense of place combined with a semi-surreal dreamike quality.

Recommended for fans of the great director's work.