Non-Fortean Films

[ramonmercado]

Emma: A new adaptation by Director Autumn de Wilde work from a script by Elanor Catton takes the Comedy of Manners/Drama road. Class is all important, to keep Emma's life on track a pyramid of servants is essential. Even when Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy) is picking flowers for her departing governess (Gemma Whelan) she requires the assistance of a footman and maid. Her father (Bill Nighy) needs two servants to detect draughts and move screens for him. Even the younger males like George Knightley (Johnny Flynn) have valets to dress them from head to foot.

Emma's matchmaking entangles her in all sorts of mishaps as she misinterprets signals and her schemes to form unions between people of the right sort for them crumble into chaos. Knowing ones place is all important but so is noblesse oblige. A lesson she learns when she encounters the Godotesque (and cruel) Frank Churchill when he finally arrives. An entertaining two hours. 8/10.

 

[Swifty]

I know this is a stage show but .. Back to the Future of all films has been adapted into a stage show. Normally I'd be sceptical except this has been written by OG BTTF creator Bob Gale himself with a new musical score from Alan Silvestri .. best of all, it's playing in Manchester starting tomorrow night until the 17th of May so for once I don't have to curse my luck for not living in the states .. this is heavy:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51502462

 

[titch]

1917, amazing in places and drags in places, but top marks for everyone who was responsible for the movies look, it looks just like a muddy, dead body ridden, shit hole in the very center of human misery. (Like Widnes but with rifles instead of Stanley knives)

 

[hunck]

Parasite

It was OK - I wouldn't give it more than that. Overrated imo & I'm sure there's been better films this year more deserving of an Oscar. It didn't seem to know what sort of film it is. Starts off as a family story then swerves into a sort of horror film. Cast & performances were good but I was a bit 'meh'. The house is the star of the film.

 

[tuco]

Manchester By The Sea is on UK tv sunday 1st march BBC2 11.15pm, i'm not normally a fan of dramas but this film is well written, directed and acted and a personal favorite, a real slow burner told mostly in flash backs, well worth a look. Casey Affleck won an oscar for best actor in this and Michell Williams is excellent as his estranged wife.

 

[ramonmercado]

Greed: I've liked Michael Winterbottom's films ever since Butterfly Kiss back in 1995, and Greed delivers the goods as well. A serious comedy about the life of billionaire cheapo fashion mogul Sir Richard McCready (Steve Coogan). McCready's 60th birthday is approaching and he plans to have an epic party with a Roman Empire theme on Mykonos. It will even have an arena (made of plasterboard) where a gladiator will face a (cranky) lion. Things start to fall apart as (paid) celebrity guests cancel their attendance, the arena construction is behind schedule. Doubles for the celebritys are booked but are far from convincing, even a George Michael lookalike is sent. Meanwhile McCready's daughter Lily (Sophie Cookdon) arrives, she is part of a reality tv show and includes Syrian Refugees camping on the beach into her show's script.

In the background Sam (Tim Key) is working away as MCCready's official biographer. He interviews those who worked with McCready in the past and a narrative emerges which demolishes the rags to riches myth. McCready has always operated in a cutthroat manner, asset stripping companies and letting them go bankrupt as his fortune pikes up. This isn't just about McCready though, widespread business practices which leave suppliers owed payments and workers left without wages are exposed as companies are liquidated. All perfectly legal. How cheap "fashion" clothes depend on slave labour conditions in the developing world is also tackled. Again a problem which is endemic in the clothing industry.

Shirley Henderson is wonderful as McCready's mother Margaret, a dowager Lady Macbeth. Shanna Shaik plays Naomi, McCready's new trophy wife with Asa Butterfield as her stepson Finn who is developing some Oedipal feelings towards her. A great satire which hurtles along to a savage ending. Written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. 9/10.

 

[Swifty]

I'm currently enjoying 'Going In Style' (2017), a heart filled comedy starring Michael Cain, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin (and Christopher Lloyd) embarking on a bank heist, three likeable old friends bantering with each other who have to raise some fast cash .. currently free to watch on NETFLIX ..

 

[GNC]

The original is a truly excellent, poignant film, but I never felt the need to watch the remake.

 

[Yithian]

This is everywhere today:

 

[Swifty]

This is everywhere today:

Yep .. I'll definitely be watching that one.

 

[Yithian]

Yep .. I'll definitely be watching that one.

Hard to know whether it's good or a cleverly cut trailer, but I'll watch it.

 

[Yithian]

Just found.

Reviews are underwhelming, but I'll watch it because I'm a synthwave fan:

 

[ramonmercado]

Calm With Horses: Savage gangster film set in a small seaside town. Cosmo Jarvis is Arm, a punch-drunk ex-boxer who is none too bright but is literally the strong arm of the Devers crime family, big fish in a small pond. He is used by his friend Dympna Devers (Barry Keoghan) who withholds money due to him and feeds him cocaine. Dympna tries to turn Arm against Ursula (Lisa Algar) who is the mother of Arm's son, Jack. Jack has special needs but loves horses and Ursula needs money to enroll him in a new school. Dympna's uncles Hector (David Wilmot) and Paudie (Ned Dennehy) think that he hasn't gone far enough in punishing someone who has crossed the family and demand that the culprit be killed. This sets off a train of events which can only have a tragic outcome.

A dark narrative of insular small town/rural gangsters, enforcing their law on their patch. Those who owe debts are beaten without mercy as a warning to others. Dympna strives to establish himself as a hard man, to live up to his uncles' expectations, realising he is being blooded. Hector is a sociopath, casually issuing death sentences but he's the nice guy; Paudie will hang you by the heels and butcher you like a pig. Arm is the tragic figure, who wants to be with his son and Ursula but he is caught up in a spiral of violence. Some really shocking scenes in this film so be warned. Working from a script by Joe Murtagh, Director Nick Rowland delivers a powerful tale of tragedy and torment. 8/10.

 

[GNC]

I heard it was weirdly funny too, like Ben Wheatley's Down Terrace. Is that true, @ramonmercado ?

 

[ramonmercado]

I heard it was weirdly funny too, like Ben Wheatley's Down Terrace. Is that true, @ramonmercado ?

The humour is rather dark, there were some funny scenes but even those contained violence.

 

[GNC]

Mark Kermode's essay series Secrets of Cinema was back on BBC4 this week, starting with a superheroes episode. Loads of good points made, like superheroes are most popular at times of crisis for the society they emerge from, and all Marvel movies have the same ending. British history films next week. On Thursdays at 9, or iPlayer.

 

[ramonmercado]

The Last Thing He Wanted: It's 1984, Anne Hathaway is a reporter, an old hand on the Central America beat, a thorn in the side of the State Department. But her grifter father Willem Dafoe is ill, he's gotten involved in CIA plans to send arms to the Contras. Inexplicably she agrees to take his part in the exchange. Ben Affleck is a duplicitous US intelligence operative with Toby Jones as a burned out CIA asset. It's all a bit too convoluted with the motivations of several of the characters difficult to comprehend. 5.5/10. On Netflix.

 

[Swifty]

Emma: A new adaptation by Director Autumn de Wilde work from a script by Elanor Catton takes the Comedy of Manners/Drama road. Class is all important, to keep Emma's life on track a pyramid of servants is essential. Even when Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy) is picking flowers for her departing governess (Gemma Whelan) she requires the assistance of a footman and maid. Her father (Bill Nighy) needs two servants to detect draughts and move screens for him. Even the younger males like George Knightley (Johnny Flynn) have valets to dress them from head to foot.

Emma's matchmaking entangles her in all sorts of mishaps as she misinterprets signals and her schemes to form unions between people of the right sort for them crumble into chaos. Knowing ones place is all important but so is noblesse oblige. A lesson she learns when she encounters the Godotesque (and cruel) Frank Churchill when he finally arrives. An entertaining two hours. 8/10.

Thanks for the review and no offence but I .. and everyone's different .. absolutely despise class structure period drama, films and TV shows that celebrate inbred snobs .. I won't be touching this with more barge poles than have ever been made, it sounds like it makes Downton f*****g Abbey look like Eastenders ..

If I want to watch working class servant women looking afraid and in a joyless life, I can just go down the job centre instead. And the director's got an extremely pretentious name .. Autumn de Wilde? .. seriously?

Morning Ramon

 

[ramonmercado]

Thanks for the review and no offence but I .. and everyone's different .. absolutely despise class structure period drama, films and TV shows that celebrate inbred snobs .. I won't be touching this with more barge poles than have ever been made, it sounds like it makes Downton f*****g Abbey look like Eastenders ..

If I want to watch working class servant women looking afraid and in a joyless life, I can just go down the job centre instead. And the director's got an extremely pretentious name .. Autumn de Wilde? .. seriously?

Morning Ramon

Actually this film shows the reality of the situation - how those at the top of the pyramid couldn't function without an army of servants. Something which is usually glossed over in these period dramas. Emma even need two servants to assist her in flower picking. If Mile Leigh was making such a film I doubt if he could have done better.

 

[Swifty]

Actually this film shows the reality of the situation - how those at the top of the pyramid couldn't function without an army of servants. Something which is usually glossed over in these period dramas. Emma even need two servants to assist her in flower picking. If Mile Leigh was making such a film I doubt if he could have done better.

Thanks for the elaboration Ramon but I don't reckon I'll be able to extract even wry laughter from it going by your descriptions, even if it is on the side of the underdog .. probably because I'm in a seriously bad mood today bruv .. that doesn't help .. this does .. NSFW

 

[GNC]

Rian Johnson (Knives Out director) has listed his fave 70s movie musicals, if you're looking for something to watch:
List of 70s musicals!

Some of his choices are nuts, but that's because they're from the heart, and I appreciate that. Plus my dad took me to see Pete's Dragon when I was a kid, so I have a soft spot for it too. At Long Last Love, though... *sucks teeth*

Oh, and Knives Out is a good watch too.

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

Rian Johnson (Knives Out director) has listed his fave 70s movie musicals, if you're looking for something to watch:
List of 70s musicals!

Some of his choices are nuts, but that's because they're from the heart, and I appreciate that. Plus my dad took me to see Pete's Dragon when I was a kid, so I have a soft spot for it too. At Long Last Love, though... *sucks teeth*

Oh, and Knives Out is a good watch too.

What a coincidence, I've just listed my favourite 70s musicals!

Here we go:

 

[Mythopoeika]

What a coincidence, I've just listed my favourite 70s musicals!

Here we go:

We have the same list as each other! How about that!

 

[JamesWhitehead]

All That Jazz suits the mood of the times. Very well made, though the musical is not my cup of hemlock, either!

 

[ravensocks]

Emma: A new adaptation by Director Autumn de Wilde work from a script by Elanor Catton takes the Comedy of Manners/Drama road. Class is all important, to keep Emma's life on track a pyramid of servants is essential. Even when Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy) is picking flowers for her departing governess (Gemma Whelan) she requires the assistance of a footman and maid. Her father (Bill Nighy) needs two servants to detect draughts and move screens for him. Even the younger males like George Knightley (Johnny Flynn) have valets to dress them from head to foot.

Emma's matchmaking entangles her in all sorts of mishaps as she misinterprets signals and her schemes to form unions between people of the right sort for them crumble into chaos. Knowing ones place is all important but so is noblesse oblige. A lesson she learns when she encounters the Godotesque (and cruel) Frank Churchill when he finally arrives. An entertaining two hours. 8/10.

See that's now on various view at home packages. £15.99 to rent!? Talk about captive audience... Shame though, as I fancied this one. Thanks for the review.

 

[GNC]

What a coincidence, I've just listed my favourite 70s musicals!

Here we go:

Seriously, give The Phantom of the Paradise a go, it's the glammed up sick bastard of musicals. Even more than Rocky Horror.

 

[Monstrosa]

Where's Rocky?

 

[GNC]

Where's Rocky?

He only allowed himself one film per year, so I suppose he preferred At Long Last Love, because he is possibly insane.

 

[GNC]

If you like non-Hollywood films, then System Crasher is now on streaming. It's about a little girl in the care system who is completely unmanageable, and the actress who plays her is incredible. You'll be glad you'll never meet her, but you do understand a complex situation because it's so well directed.

Trailer:

The stuff she gets up to in the trailer is mild compared to her behaviour in the actual movie!