#21

Mitchells vs. Machines

Did my head in
2/5

#23

I thought Nomadland was spectacular. It was just so well done. Kind of forgot it was a film several times.
McDormand was, of course, amazing. Music was gorgeous. I loved how goofy and clumsy Dave was. Also wasn’t expecting as much humour as there was.
I was very touched by the whole thing.

Looking forward to seeing it again in the cinema

#24

Yeah I felt that a tad:

The Mitchells Vs The Machines (Netflix) 4/5
:robot: Bursting with such vibrancy and fluidity, but some moments hit sensory overload for me with a billion fluorescent things lobbed at every inch of the screen.

Battle Of The Sexes (Film 4) 3/5
:tennis: Extremely functional and trying to say the right stuff. The climax is rather thrilling and handled really well. Risenborough is once again chameleonic.

The Shawshank Redemption (DVD) 4.5/5
:hammer: Finally took the plunge after what must be 20 odd years of owning the DVD. It probably first crossed my radar when seeing it appear on one of those ‘AFI Top 100’ countdown shows that popped up on Channel 4 in the late 90’s
 Hardly breaking news, but rightly lauded with some exceptional writing, an affecting story about friendship, hope, spirit and humanity with strong performances across the board from memorable character upon memorable character all wrapped in a voiceover that actually works.

1 Like
#25

Gonna stick Phil and Grant vs the Machines on. Think it will be the 7th animated film I’ve seen as an adult

#26

Also felt that sound mixing was all over the shop. Going from extreme quiet to deafening one scene to the next
 anyone else find that an issue?

#27

Bend It Like Beckham has stood the test of time. Parminder Nagra should be a huge star. Such a sweet film and a lovely little time capsule too. Hilarious that outfits like these are back:

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I wonder how different it would be if made today. Obviously women’s football is much bigger than it was in 2002. I guess it would just be a romance between the two, and I don’t think you’d have such an openly homophobic character like Juliet Stevenson. Also wouldn’t have an Irish person saying they understand racism.

5 Likes
#28

It’s funny to me how obvious it was that they were meant to be the couple of the film - the stuff with the guy just feels tacked on.

Glad this version exists as it’s lovely and probably did a really good number for making sport seem more accessible to more people/showing different ways for girls to behave in mainstream cinema - but I’d love to have seen what the original version would have been like

#29

There was a video on Bon Appetit (the youtube channel we do not give our clicks) where Priya Krishna makes aloo gobi, and she talks about how much she loved the film growing up as a child of Indian immigrants because it gave her a chance to show her culture to her friends. She made them aloo gobi because they mention it in the film.

1 Like
#30

BA aside - was always taken aback by how shitty the comments on any Priya video were. “Oh, another Indian dish, did her parents teach her this one too :roll_eyes: “ - as if Carla didnt almost always do Italian-inspired stuff, Brad always do fermented stuff etc. What twats

#31

There was so much toxic stuff on that channel, so glad Priya and Sohla have gone on to do bigger and better things.

1 Like
#32

Things Heard and Seen
Mile-high bollocks, but not unenjoyable, in the way that adaptations of trashy books sometimes are. James Norton makes a decent shit.

#33

love this, the animation is gorgeous. haven’t seen in years.

2 Likes
#34

Was chatting to my dad about bend it like beckham the other day cos he said he’d watched blinded by the lights
Good film
What a dish

#35

I just finished watching:

The Birth Of A Nation (1915) - I can accept that purely from a technical aspect the film was good. The action pieces and the framing of shots, managing to get so much happening within a static camera shot was impressive.

I won’t be confusing technical ability on what the film really is. It’s a nasty racist piece of cinema. Reading reviews from “normal” sources like Roger Ebert it was deemed racist at the time and many of the scenes were credited in reviving the popularity of The KKK.

Leni Riefenstahl 20 years after this was able to also produce films using impressive film techniques that were plain and simple evil Nazi propaganda. I remember watching a documentary on her called The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl about 20 years ago. And some of her films were featured in Mark Cousins’ Women Make Film documentary last year.

Roger Ebert gave The Birth Of A Nation a great movie status with a review that did completely acknowledge its nastiness. I guess it unfortunately and inevitably has a place in film history but it’s a vile racist film. I’ll score it 0/10.

3 Likes
#36

When I was kicking my heels after university I did a Film Studies A-level at evening classes, and one of the modules was about this and Riefenstahl, so when I watched it I did so with an academic head on, god knows how long I would have lasted if I was watching it for kicks. It’s unpleasant enough that I think it would be a lot less well known and respected today if it was “just” a great movie, but the tragedy is that it’s not merely a technically impressive piece, it’s the very first time many of those techniques were imagined and used. It’s an absolute cornerstone of the language of cinema, but it’s vile.

1 Like
#37

Couldn’t get past the first 5 minutes of that Mitchells thing, not for me

Thought Stowaway was surprisingly good. It’s basically a succession of moral quandaries but in space, which worked for me. Seen the pacing be criticised but it zipped by for me and my biggest grievance was it seemed to end on a bit which could’ve been the midpoint of the film

Mother’s Day - 1980 sleazy horror about a mother and her two sons who kidnap and assault three women on holiday
 As with all these types of films, it’s unpleasant and dull

The Beach Bum - veered between entertaining and annoying. When it was McConaughy and the whole shtick was the stoner / inebriated stuff it was boring, but it had some good comedy scenes - the dolphin trip with Martin Lawrence being a highlight. I think with Korine’s previous work, if you loved or hated them you can’t deny they were eye catching but this was a bit forgettable

#38

you’ve got mail is a strange and interesting film. silly and funny too.

#39

some of the shots of Riefenstahl’s films from Women Make Films were absolutely stunning

such a shame that a talented film maker (and a woman making films so early on) used it to spread hatred

#40

I don’t think anyone here is espousing any dodgy views, but it’s such dangerous ground to appreciate the work of Riefenstahl on even just an aesthetic level, given its use. This is exactly what Bryan Ferry ended up apologising for about 15 years ago.

1 Like
#41

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I only watch films with wordy titles now.

Love An American Werewolf, why hadn’t I seen it before? 4/5

Final Fantasy shite 1/5

The Man With Two Brains v v funny 4/5

1 Like