[SA Chris]

Could say the same for Blackhawk Down, which is based on true events.

[TobyD]

Could say the same for Blackhawk Down, which is based on a wilful gross distortion of true events.

Just a minor edit. Although Ridley Scott is a brilliant director,  and BHD is an entertaining film if you pretend its fiction,  it totally misrepresents what was a total disaster for the US. Perhaps in a similar way to say, a Dirty Dozen film and WWII.

[SA Chris]

Fair enough, I thought "based on" covered that adequately, but feel free.

However the point I was trying to make about the local population getting mowed down in large numbers isn't under dispute though.

[TobyD]

Indeed not Chris I think I agree with you! BHD just slightly annoyed me, because it's brilliant as a film, but because it's a distortion of events worthy of Leni Riefenstahl, it shouldn't exist. I love action films, but I dislike propaganda which mistells recent history. It's just a personal bugbear that one.

[SA Chris]

I'd like to know how much of 12 Strong, which I mentioned earlier, is actually true.


As far as history goes, don't get me started on U-571.

[Oldmanmatt]

As far as history goes, don't get me started on U-571.

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤯🤮

[cowboyhat]

I find the whole 'based on true events' idea off putting and generally uninteresting in film. I'd rather not know that about a movie.

If I want to watch a documentary I'll put bbc4 on.



Feel free to wade fourth with examples; no doubt this like most things will prove me a hypocrite.

[SA Chris]

Because truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and it's nice to learn about something delivered in an entertaining manner.

Goodbye Bafana

Zodiac

K-19 The Widowmaker

Mr Nice

The Imitation Game

Midnight Express

12 Years a Slave

Papillon

Cry Freedom

Raging Bull

Wolf of Wall Street

The Big Short

[TobyD]

I find the whole 'based on true events' idea off putting and generally uninteresting in film. I'd rather not know that about a movie.

It's not an unreasonable comment, but along with above examples, the last film I saw in a cinema before the lockdown was Dark Waters. It is no doubt a dramatisation not a documentary, which tells a true story in an entertaining way without straying from the spirit of those events as far as I know. I'm sure it glossed over some things and plays up others but it is entertainment not investigative journalism.
Three billboards outside Ebbing Missouri was brilliant.
Vice was brilliant as well, and very close to actual events I think.

My beef is with films that create entertainment out of a distortion of history with an agenda, particularly when this is to Lionise the instigators of disaster, which BHD does in spades.

If a film makes a prominent point of being based on true events, I like there to be a point to that, rather than just an interesting story. Otherwise I don't mind what it's based on as long as I like watching it!

[cowboyhat]

I find the whole 'based on true events' idea off putting and generally uninteresting in film. I'd rather not know that about a movie.

It's not an unreasonable comment, but along with above examples, the last film I saw in a cinema before the lockdown was Dark Waters. It is no doubt a dramatisation not a documentary, which tells a true story in an entertaining way without straying from the spirit of those events as far as I know. I'm sure it glossed over some things and plays up others but it is entertainment not investigative journalism.
Three billboards outside Ebbing Missouri was brilliant.
Vice was brilliant as well, and very close to actual events I think.

My beef is with films that create entertainment out of a distortion of history with an agenda, particularly when this is to Lionise the instigators of disaster, which BHD does in spades.

If a film makes a prominent point of being based on true events, I like there to be a point to that, rather than just an interesting story. Otherwise I don't mind what it's based on as long as I like watching it!

Thanks this more or less sums up what I was getting at and Chris' list has some obviously briliant examples.


At least I called it.

[cowboyhat]

Just rewatched american psycho and the hateful eight on Netflix.

I think i love american psycho even more now than when it came out. Bales performance really is astounding and its still so funny. Very tight movie, hundred minutes, the first half hour sets it up amazingly well. all the lines people quote are from the first few minutes.

And with Hateful, if you can sit still for 2h30 the tension ratchets up so perfectly.


As an aside i'd forgotten a crucial detail of one of the scenes and started watching it with the twelve year old, vaguely thinking it was just a western thats a bit more gory but basically everyone just gets shot. Fortunately just over an hour in we called bedtime and promised to revisit the following evening. I carried on watching and, no, it is an 18 for a reason.

[SA Chris]

My beef is with films that create entertainment out of a distortion of history with an agenda, particularly when this is to Lionise the instigators of disaster, which BHD does in spades.

Totally. See comment re: U-571.

[Falling Down]

Watched 'Meeting Gorbachev' last night.  Werner Herzog interviewing the man himself.  It's really interesting and I learned a lot but it's not quite what you'd expect with both of these two in the same room.  Herzog is clearly enamoured, if not overawed by his subject and you might ask if he soft balled a little but it's still a fascinating insight nevertheless.  Some great side pieces from James Baker, Lech Walesa and the Hungarian PM (can't remember his name). 

[TobyD]

Watched Mission impossible Ghost Protocol on Netflix; highly entertaining lowbrow action with some great silly climbing bits. Doesn't pretend to be anything it's not and I liked it. Not sophisticated but fun.

[JamieG]

Wife and I watched Palm Springs recently. Very good Sundance-y romantic comedy with a ground hog day time loop element.

[Snoops]

Extraction - watched it twice recently cos I enjoyed it so much. Exactly what a modern action film should be.
Chris Hemsworth is really good in these kind of roles. Reminds me a bit of Harrison Ford. And myself, obviously.

Me too. I was going to post about it! I really liked it - set in Dakha it had a very non Hollywood feel to it which I really enjoyed.

To all you boys that liked extraction...make sure you’ve seen the Indonesian ‘The Raid’....top draw and superior in every way to imitations.

[Will Hunt]

What about this imitation?

[Snoops]

That is brilliant 

It’s a plot spoiler though..so don’t watch if you haven’t seen the Raid!

[andy popp]

Wife and I watched Palm Springs recently. Very good Sundance-y romantic comedy with a ground hog day time loop element.

Horses for courses; I didn't like Palm Springs at all. Similarly, I recently enjoyed Uncut Gems, but my wife really disliked it.

[Falling Down]

We watched Uncut Gems last night. It was great. I was absolutely knackered by the end. Read an Ebert review afterwards in which he described the directors as “the masters of anxiety inducing film” and he’s not wrong. It’s exhausting.

[Will Hunt]

Watched Three Billboards last night. Quite brilliant.

[andy popp]

We watched Uncut Gems last night. It was great. I was absolutely knackered by the end. Read an Ebert review afterwards in which he described the directors as “the masters of anxiety inducing film” and he’s not wrong. It’s exhausting.

Also, I had to give up on even hearing - let alone understanding - half the dialogue; but once I'd accepted that I was in for the ride.

[Paul B]

We watched Uncut Gems last night. It was great.

I found it exhausting after 30 minutes and that was enough.

[Falling Down]

Ah - We'll often watch films with subtitles on for W but it really helps with flicks like this.

[moose]

Ah - We'll often watch films with subtitles on for W but it really helps with flicks like this.

Having the subtitles on is a habit I got into from watching The Wire.  I've since found it invaluable for any series / film with lots of heavily accented, slang heavy dialogue - I also find reading names helps me remember who the characters with big casts.