Film

[Carnage]

Just finished it there. It was well made, certainly but far from compelling for me.

[pete]

Mubi.com are doing 3 months for 1eur offer at the minute. You can sign up and then cancel and subscription will last for the 3months. Some more movie options for the lockdown ahead.

[Blizzard Beast]

Watched Parasite and The Mandalorian over xmas which were excellent.

[Slaughterday]

Possessor - Expected it to be very good, it wasn't.
Promising Young Woman - Expected it to be very bad, it wasn't.

Loved Possessor. Cool concept and some proper nasty scenes...thought it was much better than young Cronenberg's previous film (Antiviral).

[astfgyl]

Mubi.com are doing 3 months for 1eur offer at the minute. You can sign up and then cancel and subscription will last for the 3months. Some more movie options for the lockdown ahead.

Cheers, hadn't heard of that site at all. Cant go wrong for 1 euro.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Finally got around to watching Tenet. Visually it's majorly impressive. The story idea is a nice little twist on your standard time travel malarkey but ultimately only vaguely interesting. The audio is all over the place though. Score and sound effects deafening you and then semi audible dialogue often mumbled through helmets/masks. Worth a watch but not worth a rewatch.

Watched it today. More or less agree. First hour was great, but the second hour was too bogged down in clichés imposed by the gimmicks of the story. "And if that happens?" "Total ANNIHILATION!" style clichés that just don't fit in a movie that wants to see itself as "intelligent", or whatever.

[Caomhaoin]

Independence Day. Ah yes

The special effects have aged terribly but it's still ultra-entertaining

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Speaking of effects that have aged badly, watched Dune (theatrical cut) for the umpteenth time in my life tonight. The big difference is that it's the soonest after reading the book that I've ever watched it, and my experience of the film really suffered as a result of the freshness of just how much the book hasn't aged at all.

The beginning, maybe the first hour or so, is pretty good. The sets and costumes, especially on Caladan, are incredible; in fact there's too much to love in the first hour. But basically the entire part with the Fremen, the majority of the central Dune bit, is so rushed, and worse than being rushed, every shortcut is a hammy mess that drags the story towards cliché.

So, is it true Villeneuve has split the book out across two films? I hope so. In the parts where Lynch does get it right, you really feel the potential for a powerful cinema experience to be born of the material.

[astfgyl]

I heard it was 2 films anyway  and they will be needed too. Looking forward to seeing if it does justice but it's a big ask.

And that's just the first book. Imagine what would be needed for Messiah!

[Ollkiller]

Yes it's the first book divided into 2 films.

[astfgyl]

Hopefully he'll do so well he will take on some more of the books

[Pedrito]

Totally agree the film was so good until it kinda lost itself. I still like it a lot but it started so unusual, so weird, the costumes, the feel, like nothing you had ever seen before and then turned into Flash Gordon towards the end.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

and then turned into Flash Gordon towards the end.

Haha, YES! It's totally that 

[Caomhaoin]

Barbershop is a surprisingly class show.

The discussions the boyz have about reparations etc would get them called uncle toms in 2021!

[StoutAndAle]

Barbershop is a surprisingly class show.

The discussions the boyz have about reparations etc would get them called uncle toms in 2021!

The first Barbershop is a very enjoyable film. But like Ice Cube's "Friday" series they beat the joke to death with all the sequels and tie-ins.

I saw "Barbershop" in a cinema in New York whenever it was released - sometimes in the early 00s. It was a great time to be there. NYC was just pulling up out of post-9/11 sadness and the place had its edge sharpened once more. 50 Cent's "In Da Club" was pumping out of every car stereo and record shop in the city. Dave Chappelle's TV show had just started and blown the doors off. Black America had some serious cultural champions.

Most of the audience was black in the cinema that I went to. Not since I was a kid had I heard people cheering and clapping as the movie started, nor had I ever heard the audience shout at the screen. It certainly added to the experience - almost like a cabaret. 

"Lester you is a muthafucka! A MUTHAFUCKA!"

Only topped by a screening of Eli Roth's "Hostel" again in NYC.

Spoiler

The part where protagonist rams a car directly into his tormentors, killing them.

[close]

This massive black lad dressed head to toe in Sean John gear leaps out of a seat about 2 rows ahead of me and roars "Damn, ho! Dass whut ya'll git for fuckin' with my boy!" and then starts making these noises like a bird call.