Films

[splinterbungee]

Watched the Polish film Ida the other night. Very pretty to look at and a nice enough story but was slightly disappointed with it overall.

Also saw The Babadook recently which was very good, a nice take on a horror which was freaky at times and played well between mental breakdown, grief and some horror. Not particularly full of suspense but I imagine if you were a teenager watching it, it may scare the life out of you and can see it getting a Candyman type of cult following. Great acting from the 2 leads aswell.

Looking forward to Whiplash, Foxcatcher and Birdman. My wife saw Foxcatcher and said it was excellent.

And regards to Kill Bill, I thought they were both great. Haven't seen the Death Proof double but apart from that I've loved all of Tarantino's previous (except Jackie Brown which I thought was OK)

Edited January 14, 2015 by splinterbungee

[metallimuse]

Michael Parks was brilliant in the latest Kevin Smith film Tusk. The film was just awful though.

Johnny Depp is legendary in that though!I would genuinely watch a spin off cop show for tv of him in that character. Reminded me so much of Columbo lol.

The film overall,don't quite know how to some it up...apparently it's the first in a trilogy all the cast are coming back for the next including Depp.

[viberunner]

Death Proof was an abomination but the rest of Tarantino's films are of a very good standard. Even stuff he's written but not directed (True Romance, Natural Born Killers) should be watched.

There's an edit of True Romance (from your favourite dodgy websites) that recuts the film to Tarantino's original non-chronological script, and adds the "deleted scenes" Tarantino ending rather than (spoilers) the happy one.

Really improves the film.

[DomDom1984]

Birdman is absolutely spectacular. I love everything about it.

[Bisque]

Just saw Guardians Of The Galaxy. Crap story but the characters made up for that! 8.5/10 (better than Avengers & hope they don't cross over for a while)

[DomDom1984]

I thought the plot was a perfect driving force for the characters. It was essentially an introduction movie and it's what it needed to be. Having such good villains not getting much time was a bit disappointing, but you can't have everything.

[kaosmark2]

I saw Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time about a week ago. Didn't think it was better than Avengers by any means. It was a fun film but not much more than that. It made me smile a lot but the one-liners never made me laugh, I didn't find any particularly memorable, and I didn't think there was that much strength to the characters. Everything about it was good but not special.

Maybe I just felt let down after the hype, but I won't be rushing for the second one when it's out.

Also doesn't help that the previous MCU film I saw was Cap America 2. Now that was fantastic.

[TheJackson]

Guardians of the Galaxy was fantastic, as was Cap America 2.

Both great to me just because I didn't expect either to be, Cap America 1 was shite so didn't expect it from the second, and I knew nothing about Guardians before watching it.

[jump]

What I liked about Guardians (after their bickering which remains the highlight for me) was the use of the soundtrack, it was very clever and served a purpose through out the flick.

[kaosmark2]

I thought Cap America 1 was alright without being anything particularly engaging. I didn't think it was any more flawed than most of Phase 1 MCU. Cap 2 was brilliant though. Cracking film.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Disney/ Marvel have really cracked the tone in the films now. They've got the level of action and humour just right and they're on such a great roll. The only one in the last run (since Avengers) that hasnt been as good is Thor 2 - which was still OK.

The DC ones seem to be going down the darker Chris Nolan route which I'm not convinced they'll nail (if Man of Steel is anything to go by).

[jump]

Disney/ Marvel have really cracked the tone in the films now. They've got the level of action and humour just right and they're on such a great roll. The only one in the last run (since Avengers) that hasnt been as good is Thor 2 - which was still OK.

The DC ones seem to be going down the darker Chris Nolan route which I'm not convinced they'll nail (if Man of Steel is anything to go by).

Tbh I'd rather DC do something different than just carbon copies of the Marvel films, if there are gonna be 2-5 superhero films a year (you've got DC, Marvel, Sony trying to make a Spider-verse and Fox with X-Man & the Fantastic Four) they will have to be different otherwise it will be just white noise.

[LondonTom]

I thought Guardians felt more like a "comic book" than most of the other films, being set in space, it didn't try to ground the story or explain anything so it "fits" in our world like the other films.

Hard to say out of Capt. America 2/GoTG which I liked best, liked them both for different reasons really.

[FloorFiller]

Thor 2 was fucking shite imo but all of the other phase 2 films i've really enjoyed (Iron Man 3 twist aside). Captain America 2 was the biggest surprise - who saw that coming eh? fantastic film

i watched GOTG high as a kite and thoroughly enjoyed it (although thinking back, can't remember much of it - must watch again in a better frame of mind). agree about the soundtrack being really cleverly done

i cannot wait for Age Of Ultron. that new trailer for it has got me so excited

[Amy Lawn]

The first Captain America is the best Marvel film ever made, you utter heathens. Guardians Of The Galaxy was great, but let itself down a lot with Gamora, she was there to be a token woman protagonist and that was it. She was in there to show up and do some fight scenes, then just be a love interest for the main guy, there was that subplot about how she hated Karen Gillen or something, but it was really only there as a small nod to her having a character arc and motivation of some kind to tie her into the story.

[jump]

Cap 1 was decent but there were so many annoying things in like lots of montages, crap CGI, no proper showdown with the baddie and I think everything you applied to Gamora also applies to Agent Carter in it too.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

hail hydra - by the way

[dentalplan]

Johnny Depp is legendary in that though!I would genuinely watch a spin off cop show for tv of him in that character. Reminded me so much of Columbo lol.

The film overall,don't quite know how to some it up...apparently it's the first in a trilogy all the cast are coming back for the next including Depp.

It was only notable because such a famous actor was playing such a stupid cartoonish role in a small movie. Can see he was only really dropped in to lead in the next two movies, which I probably will watch despite how unsettling a watch Tusk was.

The first Captain America is the best Marvel film ever made, you utter heathens.

I would agree it's better than it's sequel. I found Winter Soldier quite unremarkable and I'm not sure I understand the love-in here.

[FloorFiller]

the first Captain America (and Thor) seem like they were so obviously made to lead in to The Avengers, rather than being great films in themselves. Captain America 2 is great as it sparks off a whole new chapter of the story what with what happens to S.H.I.E.L.D., and it's so much more than your average superhero film (because, as we've seen in the first Avengers film, once Captain America is paired with the rest of the Avengers, he seems kind of shite, so had to have a little something more to him)

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Oscar noms:

For anyone fancying a break from speculating about the Pyramid headliners

Best Picture
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Gone Girl”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Nightcrawler”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Whiplash”

Best Actor
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

Best Actress
Jennifer Aniston, “Cake”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Best Supporting Actor
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Tom Wilkinson, “Selma”

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Rene Russo, “Nightcrawler”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”

Best Director
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava DuVernay, “Selma”
Clint Eastwood, “American Sniper”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Or if you'd rather:

Razzie noms:

WORST PICTURE

• Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
• Left Behind
• The Legend of Hercules
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Transformers: Age of Extinction

WORST ACTOR

• Kirk Cameron, Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
• Nicholas Cage, Left Behind
• Kellan Lutz, The Legend of Hercules
• Seth MacFarlane, A Million Ways to Die in the West
• Adam Sandler, Blended

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Mel Gibson, Expendables 3
• Kelsey Grammer, Expendables 3, Legends of Oz, Think Like a Man Too, Transformers: Age of Extinction
• Shaquille O'Neal, Blended
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Expendables 3
• Kiefer Sutherland, Pompeii

WORST ACTRESS

• Drew Barrymore, Blended
• Cameron Diaz, The Other Woman and Sex Tape
• Melissa McCarthy, Tammy
• Charlize Theron, A Million Ways to Die in the West
• Gaia Weiss, The Legend of Hercules

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Cameron Diaz, Annie
• Megan Fox, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Nicola Peltz, Transformers: Age of Extinction
• Susan Sarandon, Tammy
• Brigitte Ridenour (née Cameron), Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas

WORST DIRECTOR

• Michael Bay, Transformers: Age of Extinction
• Darren Doane, Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
• Renny Harlin, The Legend of Hercules
• Jonathan Liebesman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Seth MacFarlane, A Million Ways to Die in the West

[jump]

Why isn't Transformers 4 nominated after they campaigned for it and everything!?!?!?!?

Not sure why Emma Stone is getting a nod for best supporting actress as she barely did anything in Birdman.

[LondonTom]

hail hydra - by the way

The first Captain America is the best Marvel film ever made, you utter heathens.

Slight exaggeration but I did enjoy it and wouldn't call it bad

Cap 1 was decent but there were so many annoying things in like lots of montages, crap CGI, no proper showdown with the baddie and I think everything you applied to Gamora also applies to Agent Carter in it too.

I don't think it does, she kicks ass and now has own TV show cause of it! Mind I didn't find Gamora as a token woman in GoTG either, the story was a focus on Star Lord and the characters he met, she about on an equal part with the other Guardians.

[jump]

Slight exaggeration but I did enjoy it and wouldn't call it bad

I don't think it does, she kicks ass and now has own TV show cause of it! Mind I didn't find Gamora as a token woman in GoTG either, the story was a focus on Star Lord and the characters he met, she about on an equal part with the other Guardians.

I didn't say Agent Carter (I need to watch that show soon) is a token woman, just the logic applied to Gamora being a token can just as easily be applied to Agent Carter..

[gary1979666]

Not sure why Emma Stone is getting a nod for best supporting actress as she barely did anything in Birdman.

See Judy Dench in Shakespeare in Love....and she won it!