Last Movie you Watched?

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  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,519
    @Torgeirtrap, I have not - I originally only knew of one sequel that existed, didn't know about the other (or the fact that it turned into a TV series in the 80's, I believe). I might give the sequel a go at some point, I had figured it wouldn't be as good as its predecessor.

    @peter, thank you! I hope you enjoy whatever it is you select.
  • edited January 2019 Posts: 17,333
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    @Torgeirtrap, I have not - I originally only knew of one sequel that existed, didn't know about the other (or the fact that it turned into a TV series in the 80's, I believe). I might give the sequel a go at some point, I had figured it wouldn't be as good as its predecessor.

    They Call Me Mister Tibbs! is worth the watch, IMO – although it was nothing special. I'll post a short review when I've seen The Organization. Will watch it soon. :-)
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    One of my 3 favorite Billy Wilder films(along with The Apartment and Double Indemnity and my favorite pure comedy he directed:

    onetwothree.jpg

    A fantastic Cold War satire made and set in 1961 Berlin(both West and East). Terrific performance from James Cagney as the head of the West Berlin division of the Coca Cola Company. Pamela Tiffin's finest hour. The score makes great use of "The Sabre Dance"
    by Aram Khachaturian:

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,894
    Morning Departure (1950)
    2540-2.jpg
    Post-war disaster drama starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough and Bonds very own Bernard Lee. A British Submarine lead by Lt Cmdr Peter Armstrong (Mills) on a routine exercise collides with a mine left over from the war, the resulting collision kills 53 crew members in both the Bow and Stern, leaving only 12 Amidship, to sink to the bottom of the ocean. With the Submarine in its present state there are only two ways to escape, each can only take 4 men, and can only be used one time. The final four men are left to wait in the Submarine, praying that the salvage team on the surface are able to bring the Submarine up before it's too late.
  • Posts: 2,896
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    King of Jazz (1930)
    Ahh, jazz, my absolute favorite genre of music. It's so timeless, much like this wonderful Pre-Code, John Murray Anderson film. This one features the talented and jovial Paul Whiteman conducting the band throughout numerous storybook "scenes," which play out on stage and across massive sets, which get bigger and more awe-inspiring as the running time progresses. Of course, I wouldn't recommend this to those who aren't fans of jazz or even stage plays and performances, but if you are, you're in for a real treat. I can't begin to imagine how stunning and grand this was to audiences in 1930, nearly 90 years ago, because it's still impressive now.

    King of Jazz is a delight, a revue of wonders. You don't have to be a jazz fan to enjoy it either--Whiteman didn't really play jazz in the Louis Armstrong sense, what he delivered was syncopated but pre-arranged popular music. The songs in King of Jazz are a panorama of American pop in the late 1920s--if you don't like one song, you'll like another, especially when the songs include "Happy Feet," "It Happened in Monterrey," and "Rhapsody in Blue." And the visuals are so consistently impressive that even someone who's not keen on the music will have their eyes entertained by the spectacle. Here's an excerpt from "Rhapsody in Blue":



    As for Burning...I wish I'd liked it as much as you did. But I thought it was pointlessly slow and eventually stopped caring about what really happened and what didn't. A thriller with no thrills.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,519
    @Revelator, well said. And yes, sometimes I'd find myself not particularly enjoying a given sequence, but then the next song or orchestral piece had me fired up. It was great.

    As for Burning, I think the inevitable revelation (and possible) twist kept me going throughout. I still feel like I overlooked something and could've enjoyed it even more than I did my first viewing, so I'll have to return to it eventually to see.
  • edited January 2019 Posts: 9,779
    I will be ranking my batman films soon enough

    As for me well Me and Amanda are likely going to be snowed in on sunday so this is gonna be a longer post

    Moonstruck
    This is an odd movie, not aweful just odd. Shrugs I don’t hate it but I don’t love it

    Beverly Hills Cop 2
    My favorite of the trilogy honestly Eddie just feels natural in the role the movie has a great pace

    Walk the line
    My wife owns this movie and between wanting to see Jaquien Phonex before he does his Anti Trump thesis... also known as The Joker a story of a true hero... and I have a soft spot in my heart for Reese Witherspoon (and a hard spot elsewhere in my body for her) so I figured why not.
    And while it is well acted I feel it’s just not my thing I fear I don’t like Johnny Cash’s music no disrespect and I hope his music is continually sold so his family is well provided for for generations to come but sadly not my thing. (Fun fact the actor playing Johnny’s older brother is Lucas Till who would go on to be Macgyver)

    Licence to Kill what can I say I still love this movie
    Films I saw in 2019

    1. Licence to Kill
    2. Beverly Hills Cop 2
    3. Casino Royale 1954
    4. Highlander
    5. Moonstruck
    6. Hitman agent 47
    7. Walk the line

    Highlander series
    1. Highlander

    Bond series
    1. Licence to Kill
    2. Casino Royale 1954
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited January 2019 Posts: 23,883
    The House That Jack Built (2018)
    Z658DjQ.jpg

    This is a rather disturbing film and was quite difficult to get through. I managed it, but only just. On it’s face, it’s the self confessed intricately visualized memoirs of a serial killer, starting at the very beginning with his first victim and progressing through a greatest hits of increasingly horrific murders. It doesn’t include only physical crimes, but insulting verbal abuse as well. It’s narrated by the killer himself, Jack (played convincingly by Matt Dillon), as he travels towards some undisclosed location (we realize where at the end) with an unnamed companion. Their ongoing conversation, between flashbacks to murders, deals with art, engineering, history and architecture (Jack is an architect). He seems to suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder among other things, as he’s never able to finish designing or building his dream home and continually demolishes the model and site. The director, Lars von Trier, is supposed to be a bit of a visionary provocateur and the film he’s made here appears to be some sort of allegory on society and unfulfilled ambition. I normally appreciate those sorts of films (like High-Rise or Mother!) but in this case the sadistic and gratuitous violence interfered with my ability to understand the message, if there is in fact one. Riley Keough and Uma Thurman also star.
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    @bondjames it’s a shame you didn’t enjoy it as much as I did, but good on ya for giving it a shot. It’s certainly not a film I could really recommend to anyone.
  • Posts: 12,284
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.

    Seeing it this Saturday coming and looking forward to it. Glad to hear you liked it.
  • Posts: 12,284
    Shardlake wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.

    Seeing it this Saturday coming and looking forward to it. Glad to hear you liked it.

    Absolutely. It has cemented the Unbreakable series as one of my favorite trilogies. I personally don’t understand the hate being directed at Glass. I really hope you enjoy it too. For me, it was satisfying and highly enjoyable.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    @bondjames it’s a shame you didn’t enjoy it as much as I did, but good on ya for giving it a shot. It’s certainly not a film I could really recommend to anyone.
    Thanks @JamesBondKenya. As I look back on it now the violence actually wasn't as bad as I may have initially felt at the time (at least not in comparison to some horror films). Rather, it was more the context of such violence, which made it seem all the more real and uncomfortable.
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.
    Good to read that @FoxRox. I tend not to be influenced by these reviewers. Many a time even when they laud a film I think it's useless. I'll try to get to it during its theatre run.
  • Posts: 6,857
    Beasts of no Nation (2015)
    Well I watched True Detective and was impressed but not wholly convinced Fukunaga was right for Bond. Gritty, sombre, though gripping, if a little drawn out.
    Then I watched Jane Eyre, well acted, impressive visuals, though still not jumping for joy at his choice.
    Now I have just watched Beasts of No Nation.
    All I can say is...Wow! Brilliant film, the tale of civil war in Africa, a Warlord (Idris Elba, superb) recruiting boy soldiers to join his band of guerillas! Stunning visuals, great acting, visceral action..I think we are in for something special from Cary Fukunaga for Bond 25!
    Am really excited now for filming to start!
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    edited January 2019 Posts: 4,043
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.

    Seeing it this Saturday coming and looking forward to it. Glad to hear you liked it.

    Absolutely. It has cemented the Unbreakable series as one of my favorite trilogies. I personally don’t understand the hate being directed at Glass. I really hope you enjoy it too. For me, it was satisfying and highly enjoyable.

    I really can't afford to go to the cinema that often so reviews can be used as a good gauge to see what I'll make the trip for.

    Although in the case of Glass I've waited for it for too long so the reviews can go to hell. Also there are some amongst the negative that have been most praise worthy.

    I watched Unbreakable yesterday and have a viewing of Split planned before. I don't mind Split but Unbreakable is masterful and alongside TDK my favourite CB film.

    Mark Kermode liked it, who cares of it's about 39% or whatever on rotten tomatoes
  • Posts: 12,284
    Shardlake wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.

    Seeing it this Saturday coming and looking forward to it. Glad to hear you liked it.

    Absolutely. It has cemented the Unbreakable series as one of my favorite trilogies. I personally don’t understand the hate being directed at Glass. I really hope you enjoy it too. For me, it was satisfying and highly enjoyable.

    I really can't afford to go to the cinema that often so reviews can be used as a good gauge to see what I'll make the trip for.

    Although in the case of Glass I've waited for it for too long so the reviews can go to hell. Also there are some amongst the negative that have been most praise worthy.

    I watched Unbreakable yesterday and have a viewing of Split planned before. I don't mind Split but Unbreakable is masterful and alongside TDK my favourite CB film.

    Mark Kermode liked it, who cares of it's about 39% or whatever on rotten tomatoes

    Unbreakable is one of my all-time favorite movies. Definitely would be in my Top 5 CB films. Split is very enjoyable as well but I do prefer the style of Unbreakable a bit more, as well as James Newton Howard's soundtrack. Glass does an excellent job of blending the two styles without making it feel awkward. In order of my preference for the trilogy, I'd rank them as:

    1. Unbreakable
    2. Glass
    3. Split

    You definitely can't ever put too much stock in reviews. I fully acknowledge Shyamalan has failed before, but for my money he really delivered a great one with Glass. I'm a big fan of Signs and The Village as well, which don't have the most stellar critic reviews either.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Glass (2019). I loved this film. To anyone interested, don’t let the negative reviews prevent you from watching it. Give it a chance.

    Seeing it this Saturday coming and looking forward to it. Glad to hear you liked it.

    Absolutely. It has cemented the Unbreakable series as one of my favorite trilogies. I personally don’t understand the hate being directed at Glass. I really hope you enjoy it too. For me, it was satisfying and highly enjoyable.

    I really can't afford to go to the cinema that often so reviews can be used as a good gauge to see what I'll make the trip for.

    Although in the case of Glass I've waited for it for too long so the reviews can go to hell. Also there are some amongst the negative that have been most praise worthy.

    I watched Unbreakable yesterday and have a viewing of Split planned before. I don't mind Split but Unbreakable is masterful and alongside TDK my favourite CB film.

    Mark Kermode liked it, who cares of it's about 39% or whatever on rotten tomatoes

    Unbreakable is one of my all-time favorite movies. Definitely would be in my Top 5 CB films. Split is very enjoyable as well but I do prefer the style of Unbreakable a bit more, as well as James Newton Howard's soundtrack. Glass does an excellent job of blending the two styles without making it feel awkward. In order of my preference for the trilogy, I'd rank them as:

    1. Unbreakable
    2. Glass
    3. Split

    You definitely can't ever put too much stock in reviews. I fully acknowledge Shyamalan has failed before, but for my money he really delivered a great one with Glass. I'm a big fan of Signs and The Village as well, which don't have the most stellar critic reviews either.

    I don't mind Signs but The Village I really liked, a friend of mine took offence at the twist but I found it really clever and made sense.

    I'm encouraged that you'd have it second and that it blends the styles of both effectively. I'll let you know after my screening.
  • Posts: 12,284
    @Shardlake Great! I’d love to know your thoughts!
  • Posts: 9,779
    Oliver Stone’s The Doors

    And the Jukebox is Open I figure I will do not all the music movies but the ones me my wife or both

    Anyways let’s talk about the doors is it historically accurate probably not but the music is great the acting is good and the film is really good
    Films I saw in 2019

    1. Licence to Kill
    2. Beverly Hills Cop 2
    3. Casino Royale 1954
    4. Oliver Stone The Doors
    5. Highlander
    6. Moonstruck
    7. Hitman agent 47
    8. Walk the line

    Highlander series
    1. Highlander

    Bond series
    1. Licence to Kill
    2. Casino Royale 1954

    Jukebox
    1. Oliver Stone The Doors
    2. Walk the line

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
    sFhV1EU.jpg

    I just finished this rather disappointing second sequel to the Johnny English series. I enjoyed the first one and really liked the follow up, but found this third effort a bit tired. In this film English starts off at a boarding school where he teaches spycraft, having long retired from active duty. A series of cyber attacks result in his services being required again after all current spies are ‘outed’. Tech is the enemy here, in the form of Jason Volta (Jake Lacy), a sort of Mark Zuckerberg Silicon Valley billionaire type. He’s got plans to dominate England’s infrastructure after ingratiating himself with Britain’s Prime Minister (Emma Thompson). However, he fails to anticipate English & Russian spy Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko, looking like she hasn’t aged a day since QoS). This proves to be a costly mistake. You see English may be a klutz, but he’s also lucky and that’s good enough to save the day - and heroically too. There are a few funny scenes, a lovely Aston Martin DBS, & some callbacks to classic Bond films (GE with the Ferrari chase, LALD with Mrs. Bell, SF with the old ways are best etc. etc.). Despite all this, I felt the film lacked the freshness factor of previous installments and the gags weren't quite as impressive. Recommended only for die hard fans.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,593
    I saw Glass last Friday with my boy, Brando. I am very mixed on this. What I liked in the film, I really liked; But there were large portions of the film with great ideas that were never fully realized. They felt half-baked, and no amount of great cinematography (excellent), or incredible perfomances (again, tops, from all four of the main leads-- but MacAvoy... whoa, that guy is one energetic and talented fella), could hide that it feels like the story/script may have been rushed into production. It definitely needed more development to bring to life the ideas, especially the new ideas, that M. Night brings in.

  • edited January 2019 Posts: 17,333
    bondjames wrote: »
    Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
    sFhV1EU.jpg

    I just finished this rather disappointing second sequel to the Johnny English series. I enjoyed the first one and really liked the follow up, but found this third effort a bit tired. In this film English starts off at a boarding school where he teaches spycraft, having long retired from active duty. A series of cyber attacks result in his services being required again after all current spies are ‘outed’. Tech is the enemy here, in the form of Jason Volta (Jake Lacy), a sort of Mark Zuckerberg Silicon Valley billionaire type. He’s got plans to dominate England’s infrastructure after ingratiating himself with Britain’s Prime Minister (Emma Thompson). However, he fails to anticipate English & Russian spy Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko, looking like she hasn’t aged a day since QoS). This proves to be a costly mistake. You see English may be a klutz, but he’s also lucky and that’s good enough to save the day - and heroically too. There are a few funny scenes, a lovely Aston Martin DBS, & some callbacks to classic Bond films (GE with the Ferrari chase, LALD with Mrs. Bell, SF with the old ways are best etc. etc.). Despite all this, I felt the film lacked the freshness factor of previous installments and the gags weren't quite as impressive. Recommended only for die hard fans.

    Waiting for this to become available on digital download here in Norway. Shame if it isn't as fun as the first two, as I enjoyed them. But, it's a film that includes Olga Kurylenko, so I will surely find something to enjoy about it. :-D

    Watched Johnny English Reborn on TV Saturday, and it's still very enjoyable having watched it several times before. I think it's fun that both JE sequels includes former Bond girls!
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    bondjames wrote: »
    Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
    sFhV1EU.jpg

    I just finished this rather disappointing second sequel to the Johnny English series. I enjoyed the first one and really liked the follow up, but found this third effort a bit tired. In this film English starts off at a boarding school where he teaches spycraft, having long retired from active duty. A series of cyber attacks result in his services being required again after all current spies are ‘outed’. Tech is the enemy here, in the form of Jason Volta (Jake Lacy), a sort of Mark Zuckerberg Silicon Valley billionaire type. He’s got plans to dominate England’s infrastructure after ingratiating himself with Britain’s Prime Minister (Emma Thompson). However, he fails to anticipate English & Russian spy Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko, looking like she hasn’t aged a day since QoS). This proves to be a costly mistake. You see English may be a klutz, but he’s also lucky and that’s good enough to save the day - and heroically too. There are a few funny scenes, a lovely Aston Martin DBS, & some callbacks to classic Bond films (GE with the Ferrari chase, LALD with Mrs. Bell, SF with the old ways are best etc. etc.). Despite all this, I felt the film lacked the freshness factor of previous installments and the gags weren't quite as impressive. Recommended only for die hard fans.

    Waiting for this to become available on digital download here in Norway. Shame if it isn't as fun as the first two, as I enjoyed them. But, it's a film that includes Olga Kurylenko, so I will surely find something to enjoy about it. :-D

    Watched Johnny English Reborn on TV Saturday, and it's still very enjoyable having watched it several times before. I think it's fun that both JE sequels includes former Bond girls!
    Olga is quite terrific in this film @Torgeirtrap. In fact, I think she's the highlight, and I wish she was in it far more than she is. I agree on Reborn - I really liked that one and forgot that Pike was in that.

    I hope you like it more than I did. It's not bad, but perhaps I expected too much.

    PS: Emma Thompson seems to be getting a bit typecast (like Gillian Anderson before her) as a sort of female boss thing. She's in the upcoming MiB film in a role like this too.
  • Posts: 17,333
    bondjames wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
    sFhV1EU.jpg

    I just finished this rather disappointing second sequel to the Johnny English series. I enjoyed the first one and really liked the follow up, but found this third effort a bit tired. In this film English starts off at a boarding school where he teaches spycraft, having long retired from active duty. A series of cyber attacks result in his services being required again after all current spies are ‘outed’. Tech is the enemy here, in the form of Jason Volta (Jake Lacy), a sort of Mark Zuckerberg Silicon Valley billionaire type. He’s got plans to dominate England’s infrastructure after ingratiating himself with Britain’s Prime Minister (Emma Thompson). However, he fails to anticipate English & Russian spy Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko, looking like she hasn’t aged a day since QoS). This proves to be a costly mistake. You see English may be a klutz, but he’s also lucky and that’s good enough to save the day - and heroically too. There are a few funny scenes, a lovely Aston Martin DBS, & some callbacks to classic Bond films (GE with the Ferrari chase, LALD with Mrs. Bell, SF with the old ways are best etc. etc.). Despite all this, I felt the film lacked the freshness factor of previous installments and the gags weren't quite as impressive. Recommended only for die hard fans.

    Waiting for this to become available on digital download here in Norway. Shame if it isn't as fun as the first two, as I enjoyed them. But, it's a film that includes Olga Kurylenko, so I will surely find something to enjoy about it. :-D

    Watched Johnny English Reborn on TV Saturday, and it's still very enjoyable having watched it several times before. I think it's fun that both JE sequels includes former Bond girls!
    Olga is quite terrific in this film @Torgeirtrap. In fact, I think she's the highlight, and I wish she was in it far more than she is. I agree on Reborn - I really liked that one and forgot that Pike was in that.

    I hope you like it more than I did. It's not bad, but perhaps I expected too much.

    PS: Emma Thompson seems to be getting a bit typecast (like Gillian Anderson before her) as a sort of female boss thing. She's in the upcoming MiB film in a role like this too.

    Time will tell; I hope I have a good time with this one when it's available for download!

    Expected Gillian Anderson to return in this one, but Emma Thompson isn't a bad casting. Never thought about it, but she might be typecast these days as female bosses. She could probably have made a decent M, come to think of it.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Expected Gillian Anderson to return in this one, but Emma Thompson isn't a bad casting. Never thought about it, but she might be typecast these days as female bosses. She could probably have made a decent M, come to think of it.
    Yes, Anderson played a similar character in last year's The Spy Who Dumped Me as well. She's really good at these roles, as is Thompson. Naturals.
    --

    Peppermint (2018)
    tIqUQtM.jpg

    I was pleasantly surprised by this actioner. It’s your typical vigilante flick. A woman’s family is brutally killed by a bunch of thugs. The system fails her miserably and therefore she is compelled to take the law into her own hands and dish out her own brand of permanent justice. You know the drill. Given this had a female butt kicker in the lead I was wary and expected it to be a bit heavy on the emotion and angst, but it really wasn’t. Jennifer Garner is fit and very credible as an aggrieved widow and mother here. One feels she’s truly capable of beating the living daylights out of someone, which she does frequently. The film itself gets to the action relatively quickly and it never lets up during its runtime. It has a bit of a mid 80’s feel but also feels contemporary (like Wick). As is customary for this genre, there’s a bit of dark humour that pervades throughout too, which I liked. Diector Pierre Morel is of course quite familiar with this sort of thing, having directed The Transporter and Taken. Good brainless generic fun.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited January 2019 Posts: 8,046
    bondjames wrote: »
    Peppermint (2018)
    tIqUQtM.jpg

    I was pleasantly surprised by this actioner. It’s your typical vigilante flick. A woman’s family is brutally killed by a bunch of thugs. The system fails her miserably and therefore she is compelled to take the law into her own hands and dish out her own brand of permanent justice. You know the drill. Given this had a female butt kicker in the lead I was wary and expected it to be a bit heavy on the emotion and angst, but it really wasn’t. Jennifer Garner is fit and very credible as an aggrieved widow and mother here. One feels she’s truly capable of beating the living daylights out of someone, which she does frequently. The film itself gets to the action relatively quickly and it never lets up during its runtime. It has a bit of a mid 80’s feel but also feels contemporary (like Wick). As is customary for this genre, there’s a bit of dark humour that pervades throughout too, which I liked. Diector Pierre Morel is of course quite familiar with this sort of thing, having directed The Transporter and Taken. Good brainless generic fun.

    This didn't even get released where I am. I had forgotten about it, but thought it looked good. Reviews weren't kind, but I can always sense that certain reviews were being overly harsh, even without having seen the film.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited January 2019 Posts: 23,883
    bondjames wrote: »
    Peppermint (2018)
    tIqUQtM.jpg

    I was pleasantly surprised by this actioner. It’s your typical vigilante flick. A woman’s family is brutally killed by a bunch of thugs. The system fails her miserably and therefore she is compelled to take the law into her own hands and dish out her own brand of permanent justice. You know the drill. Given this had a female butt kicker in the lead I was wary and expected it to be a bit heavy on the emotion and angst, but it really wasn’t. Jennifer Garner is fit and very credible as an aggrieved widow and mother here. One feels she’s truly capable of beating the living daylights out of someone, which she does frequently. The film itself gets to the action relatively quickly and it never lets up during its runtime. It has a bit of a mid 80’s feel but also feels contemporary (like Wick). As is customary for this genre, there’s a bit of dark humour that pervades throughout too, which I liked. Diector Pierre Morel is of course quite familiar with this sort of thing, having directed The Transporter and Taken. Good brainless generic fun.

    This didn't even get released where I am. I had forgotten about it, but thought it looked good. Reviews weren't kind, but I can always sense that certain reviews were being overly harsh, even without having seen the film.
    I had very low expectations, and so found it to be satisfactory. The villains are disposable and generic and there's not much of a story, but it's not a bad way to kill an hour and a half with some mindless action. I think there may have been some controversy because the bad guys are primarily Latino and that may have had some impact on reviews.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,046
    bondjames wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    Peppermint (2018)
    tIqUQtM.jpg

    I was pleasantly surprised by this actioner. It’s your typical vigilante flick. A woman’s family is brutally killed by a bunch of thugs. The system fails her miserably and therefore she is compelled to take the law into her own hands and dish out her own brand of permanent justice. You know the drill. Given this had a female butt kicker in the lead I was wary and expected it to be a bit heavy on the emotion and angst, but it really wasn’t. Jennifer Garner is fit and very credible as an aggrieved widow and mother here. One feels she’s truly capable of beating the living daylights out of someone, which she does frequently. The film itself gets to the action relatively quickly and it never lets up during its runtime. It has a bit of a mid 80’s feel but also feels contemporary (like Wick). As is customary for this genre, there’s a bit of dark humour that pervades throughout too, which I liked. Diector Pierre Morel is of course quite familiar with this sort of thing, having directed The Transporter and Taken. Good brainless generic fun.

    This didn't even get released where I am. I had forgotten about it, but thought it looked good. Reviews weren't kind, but I can always sense that certain reviews were being overly harsh, even without having seen the film.
    I had very low expectations, and so found it to be satisfactory. The villains are disposable and generic and there's not much of a story, but it's not a bad way to kill an hour and a half with some mindless action. I think there may have been some controversy because the bad guys are primarily Latino and that may have had some impact on reviews.

    Racism/xenophobia was certainly one of the things most often mentioned as a negative. I am sure it was overblown. I'll hopefully catch it on Netflix or something soon. I like Garner, she's a badass.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    bondjames wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    Peppermint (2018)
    tIqUQtM.jpg

    I was pleasantly surprised by this actioner. It’s your typical vigilante flick. A woman’s family is brutally killed by a bunch of thugs. The system fails her miserably and therefore she is compelled to take the law into her own hands and dish out her own brand of permanent justice. You know the drill. Given this had a female butt kicker in the lead I was wary and expected it to be a bit heavy on the emotion and angst, but it really wasn’t. Jennifer Garner is fit and very credible as an aggrieved widow and mother here. One feels she’s truly capable of beating the living daylights out of someone, which she does frequently. The film itself gets to the action relatively quickly and it never lets up during its runtime. It has a bit of a mid 80’s feel but also feels contemporary (like Wick). As is customary for this genre, there’s a bit of dark humour that pervades throughout too, which I liked. Diector Pierre Morel is of course quite familiar with this sort of thing, having directed The Transporter and Taken. Good brainless generic fun.

    This didn't even get released where I am. I had forgotten about it, but thought it looked good. Reviews weren't kind, but I can always sense that certain reviews were being overly harsh, even without having seen the film.
    I had very low expectations, and so found it to be satisfactory. The villains are disposable and generic and there's not much of a story, but it's not a bad way to kill an hour and a half with some mindless action. I think there may have been some controversy because the bad guys are primarily Latino and that may have had some impact on reviews.

    Racism/xenophobia was certainly one of the things most often mentioned as a negative. I am sure it was overblown. I'll hopefully catch it on Netflix or something soon. I like Garner, she's a badass.
    Hope you like it. She is seriously badass in this one.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Lovers' Rosy Stain
    Posts: 6,769
    bondjames wrote: »
    Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
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    I just finished this rather disappointing second sequel to the Johnny English series. I enjoyed the first one and really liked the follow up, but found this third effort a bit tired. In this film English starts off at a boarding school where he teaches spycraft, having long retired from active duty. A series of cyber attacks result in his services being required again after all current spies are ‘outed’. Tech is the enemy here, in the form of Jason Volta (Jake Lacy), a sort of Mark Zuckerberg Silicon Valley billionaire type. He’s got plans to dominate England’s infrastructure after ingratiating himself with Britain’s Prime Minister (Emma Thompson). However, he fails to anticipate English & Russian spy Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko, looking like she hasn’t aged a day since QoS). This proves to be a costly mistake. You see English may be a klutz, but he’s also lucky and that’s good enough to save the day - and heroically too. There are a few funny scenes, a lovely Aston Martin DBS, & some callbacks to classic Bond films (GE with the Ferrari chase, LALD with Mrs. Bell, SF with the old ways are best etc. etc.). Despite all this, I felt the film lacked the freshness factor of previous installments and the gags weren't quite as impressive. Recommended only for die hard fans.

    With a few months' hindsight I say I do prefer Johnny English Reborn's larger sense of scale and intrigue, but I still overall prefer this film to it. The humor is more in the vein of the first one. Would you agree?
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