[Adam Lincoln]

Last breath. Really enjoyed this but maybe it was because I work in same kind of environment, and can relate to it. Had a few guys offshore fighting back the tears.

Ps its on Netflix at moment.

[andy popp]

The Skateboarding film Andy mentioned is now on iPlayer so I'll give that a whirl tonight.

Minding the Gap? Do let us know what you think.

Blimey.  Did not expect that at all.  A great film. Very moving and difficult to watch at times.  Thanks for the tip-off.

It blindsided us too, but while it can be very difficult its also incredibly worthwhile, I think.

[Falling Down]

Yeah absolutely!

[Falling Down]

Two trips to the flicks this week.

Apocalypse Now: Final Cut.  I've never seen the film at a cinema before so this was a real treat.  A 4k restoration and with surround sound it was fantastic.  The famous scene when they fly into and destroy the village was shocking compared to watching on a small screen with limited sound.  Similarly when the patrol boat is attacked - the abrupt changes in volume and sudden eruptions of noise were startling and unsettling.  This cut is a shorter version than the overly long Redux but still includes some of the additional material including the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.  Well worth going to the cinema to watch.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood  Watched this last night and it wasn't what I expected, especially the surprise ending.  Typical Tarantino fare but with (thankfully) much less violence (apart from one scene) than his other films.  Great performances by everyone in it.  A really tense and creepy visit to Spahn Ranch for Brad Pitt.  Me and W thought it was great.

[andy popp]

The Last Black Man in San Francisco: a touching film that is as much about male friendship as it is about gentrification.

[TobyD]

the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.

Not bizarre:
Because the tension and claustrophobic atmosphere in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is maintained when they never get off the boat. The only release is into Kurtz's nightmare in the centre of the jungle. The scenes aren't intrinsically bad but they disrupt a tighter narrative structure. Brevity is an underrated virtue in movie making.

[duncan]

Two trips to the flicks this week.

Apocalypse Now: Final Cut.  I've never seen the film at a cinema before so this was a real treat.  A 4k restoration and with surround sound it was fantastic.  The famous scene when they fly into and destroy the village was shocking compared to watching on a small screen with limited sound.  Similarly when the patrol boat is attacked - the abrupt changes in volume and sudden eruptions of noise were startling and unsettling.  This cut is a shorter version than the overly long Redux but still includes some of the additional material including the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.  Well worth going to the cinema to watch.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood  Watched this last night and it wasn't what I expected, especially the surprise ending.  Typical Tarantino fare but with (thankfully) much less violence (apart from one scene) than his other films.  Great performances by everyone in it.  A really tense and creepy visit to Spahn Ranch for Brad Pitt.  Me and W thought it was great.

Thanks for this. I’ve seen AN once only and the confluence of time, place, and mental state (cough) was so perfect for it I’ve not dared to see it since!

I don’t enjoy cartoon (operatic?) violence in films in general and I’m a Tarentino agnostic. Jackie Brown is my favourite by far.  This sounds like it might appeal more than some of his others.

[SA Chris]

Apocalypse Now: Final Cut.  I've never seen the film at a cinema before so this was a real treat.  A 4k restoration and with surround sound it was fantastic.  The famous scene when they fly into and destroy the village was shocking compared to watching on a small screen with limited sound.  Similarly when the patrol boat is attacked - the abrupt changes in volume and sudden eruptions of noise were startling and unsettling.  This cut is a shorter version than the overly long Redux but still includes some of the additional material including the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.  Well worth going to the cinema to watch.

FFS not showing in Scotland, anywhere..

[Falling Down]

the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.

Brevity is an underrated virtue in movie making.

For sure, but, I do like that scene.  It's almost like a dream sequence.

[Fultonius]

Apocalypse Now: Final Cut.  I've never seen the film at a cinema before so this was a real treat.  A 4k restoration and with surround sound it was fantastic.  The famous scene when they fly into and destroy the village was shocking compared to watching on a small screen with limited sound.  Similarly when the patrol boat is attacked - the abrupt changes in volume and sudden eruptions of noise were startling and unsettling.  This cut is a shorter version than the overly long Redux but still includes some of the additional material including the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.  Well worth going to the cinema to watch.

FFS not showing in Scotland, anywhere..

It was at the GFT, but maybe been and gone?

[cowboyhat]

the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.

Not bizarre:
Because the tension and claustrophobic atmosphere in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is maintained when they never get off the boat. The only release is into Kurtz's nightmare in the centre of the jungle. The scenes aren't intrinsically bad but they disrupt a tighter narrative structure. Brevity is an underrated virtue in movie making.

I was working as a runner when I watched Redux at the cinema and was frothing about it until an editor I worked for explained to what was wrong with it just as you have almost verbatim.

[TobyD]

the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.

Brevity is an underrated virtue in movie making.

For sure, but, I do like that scene.  It's almost like a dream sequence.

Indeed, I like it too, I'd just argue that apocalypse now is a lesser movie with it in it.

the French plantation house scenes which some people seem to really dislike for some bizarre reason.

Not bizarre:
Because the tension and claustrophobic atmosphere in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is maintained when they never get off the boat. The only release is into Kurtz's nightmare in the centre of the jungle. The scenes aren't intrinsically bad but they disrupt a tighter narrative structure. Brevity is an underrated virtue in movie making.

I was working as a runner when I watched Redux at the cinema and was frothing about it until an editor I worked for explained to what was wrong with it just as you have almost verbatim.

Thanks,  it's nice to know that others agree with my opinionated ranting  occasionally 
Other rants include: Black hawk down, the best directed film that should never have been released; Spielberg,  the most overrated director in history and bloody super hero movies.

Saying that I am a total hypocrite,  Spielberg does some things amazingly well,  and I love guardians of the galaxy and deadpool. 

[moose]

Re Apocalypse Now.  It's not as a substantial film, but I feel same the same "addition by subtraction" applies to Aliens versus its Directors Cut.  The Directors Cut has extra material that provides background on how the colony was infected / killed by the aliens, and the last stand in the medical suite is extended using motion sensor activated sentry guns.  The extra background is interesting and well done, and the sentry guns seemed very "cool" when I was 12 but in retrospect the extras make the film inferior - less of a lean, breakneck ghost train ride.  And, showing 100s of aliens wiped out by the sentry guns, makes them appear less formidable, and lessens the air of a fight-against-impossible-odds.

Not sure about Spielberg being overated - depends on whose opinion you-re listening to - I suspect some people underrate him.  To me, at his best he has produced some great films.  Jaws is probably my favourite of his - a superb example of how to maintain tension (I'm sure by know most people know this was partly a result of the continuing mechanical failure of "Bruce" the animatronic shark, and script re-writes by cast and writers, overnight before each days filming). But he is often crippled by his sentimentality, e.g. the last section of AI made me very angry (he just couldn't bloody help himself.....).  I seem to remember Sugarland Express being one of the few films where he managed to restrain himself... and that was one of his first!  At worst though, even when he lets himself down, he is rarely less than a very good craftsman.

Never really got into superhero movies.  I also like the odd one (Guardians of the Galaxy, a few of the Batmans, the Sam Raimi Spiderman, I vaguely recall liking the first Kick Ass).  But most are a combination of an adolescent view of what's dark / edgy (swearing! I'm impressed!), take themselves far too seriously (if I wanted "adult", I would not be watching a film about a man in a cape beating up freaks), and completely incoherent.  The better ones often start well, with fun scenes of an "ordinary" person coming to terms with his powers.  Unfortunately, then the "plot" kicks in and it all degenerates; unconvincing villains, and usually an interminable and confusing final hour of non-stop bangs and punching, edited it seems, to hide an inability to choreograph action scenes.  Must stop now... I realise that I have now turned into my Dad.......   

[moose]

Thinking about it, A.I. is possibly angriest I have ever got in a cinema.  I don't mind bad films, providing they aren't too long and don't take themselves seriously, I often enjoy them; but AI seemed such a waste.  Not seen it since the cinema, so my memory is possibly faulty but I recall lots of interesting scenes and acting and visuals, leading to an appropriate, if bleak, end-point.  But then, an inexplicable, bolted-on final section that made it grossly sentimental and over-long, and ruined the entirity of the preceding film.  It's like Spielberg had completed the film according to his and Kubricks shared vision, and then decided to have a shit in the film cans before sealing them up and posting to the studio.

[Falling Down]

Great review Moose 😂

Toby and Cowboyhat Re: Redux - yeah a bloated mess.  I’ll be interested to hear what you think of this new edit should you ever watch it.

[Yossarian]

Re the Aliens DC - whilst doing some research on a book i’m working on, I discovered that the sentry gun laptop (which I’d assumed was a fancy prop) is a GRiD Compass, which was the first closing display laptop computer, dreamed up by British industrial designer Bill Moggridge.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_Compass

[TobyD]

Nice contributions all re Spielberg, Moose I'd agree with you on Jaws, Jurassic Park and quite a few others are fantastic classic movie making. However, AI was more or less as you say, Saving Private Ryan was sentimental about relatively recent history and I hated it. Spielberg has a habit of making films about abandoned lonely children, and it smacks of self indulgent repetitivity.

Re Alien, the only real one is the initial cut. Seen on a big screen, it's among the scariest, most brilliant movies I've ever seen. Read a recent article about the monster design being based on a Francis Bacon triptych which I saw in a gallery years ago and liked because I thought it looked like the alien....

[SA Chris]

Thinking about it, A.I. is possibly angriest I have ever got in a cinema.  I don't mind bad films, providing they aren't too long and don't take themselves seriously, I often enjoy them; but AI seemed such a waste.  Not seen it since the cinema, so my memory is possibly faulty but I recall lots of interesting scenes and acting and visuals, leading to an appropriate, if bleak, end-point.  But then, an inexplicable, bolted-on final section that made it grossly sentimental and over-long, and ruined the entirity of the preceding film.  It's like Spielberg had completed the film according to his and Kubricks shared vision, and then decided to have a shit in the film cans before sealing them up and posting to the studio.

About right. I went to see it with about 5 people. Near the end I was so annoyed with the whole thing I wanted to walk out, but stayed out of politeness to the other people I was with. Spoke to them all afterwards, and to a person they said the same thing, they all wanted to walk out, but stayed.

[cheque]

In 26 years the only time I've ever properly argued with my mate Nima about is whether AI was any good or not, walking back from seeing it at the pictures. I was on the "not good" sude of the argument but I don't remember anything about the film now to be honest.

Can't say I'm a Spielberg fan at all myself- I was shocked to learn that Jurassic Park is now considered a classic the other week when my colleague came into work wearing a t-shirt with the logo on and I laughed at him  . I was still of the opinion that it seemed everyone had when it came out, that it was an overhyped merchandise vehicle...

[crzylgs]

Watched The Fountain recently, directed by Darren Aronofsky (of 'Pi' and 'Requiem for a Dream' fame, plus various others) it's a sci-fi/fantasy that covers topics of mortality, eternal life, and (eternal) love. A real thought provoker and better than my description seems.

I'd heartily recommend it but you'd have to be in the mood for a bit of an emotional 'thinkers' movie. Definitely not a popcorn seller.

[spidermonkey09]

Stations of the Cross, currently on iPlayer. In German with subtitles. Absolutely riveting cinema about the power and danger of fundamentalist religion; Catholicism in this case. Needs watching rather than on in the background, but well worth it.

[spidermonkey09]

Goldstone. Was on BBC 4 over the weekend and now on iplayer. Absolutely brilliant. Australian outback drama/thriller. Get it watched.

Watched this the same week as Wind River, also worth a look. They share a lot of common ground - outsider cop, indigenous people, The Company, big empty landscapes. Understated, ponderous Nick Cave soundtrack to Wind River.

Finally got round to watching Wind River too the other day (on Netflix). A strange mixture of really excellent, tense scenes with some appalling trite dialogue and acting mixed in there too. I thought Goldstone was far superior but WR definitely worth watching. Anyone who has watched the one that precedes Goldstone, I'd be keen for a review. Think its called Mystery Road.

[steveri]

At the risk of being 'I like the cool bands before they were cool'...

Re: both brevity and Spielberg, Duel is a bloody brilliant film. The most basic of plots, limited dialogue, low budget, shortish runtime and tons of tension. A familiar story to anyone who's ever had an Audi driver in their rear view mirror move their seat to get even closer.

Would like to rewatch and see if agree.

[crzylgs]

After being so pleasantly and taken in by The Fountain a couple of days ago... my latest watch was less successful :/

'High Life' (2018, staring Robert Pattinson and directed by Claire Denis) was a disappointment. I'm not entirely sure what point(s) it was trying to make? Any that it tried to make were rather clumbsy and ham fisted and not well made at all. Some brief points could include: Sex is good. Rape is bad. Human/animal instinct for desiring either of these? Our treatment of criminals could probably be improved. The miracle of birth is precious. Solo parenthood is arduous, especially on a spaceship drifting away from earth?

I feel like there is potentially a good edit of this movie out thee somewhere, on a cutting floor, but this is not it.

[andy popp]

We watched The Deer Hunter last night, it seemed an appropriate thing to do before leaving Pennsylvania. I'd only seen it once before, must have been two or three decades ago (though I would have been too young to see it on its release). Its a great but flawed film. The scenes of life at home in Pennsylvania are superb, capturing working class America on the cusp of disaster in the early 70s - very prescient in focusing on these white blue collar lives (the film notably lacks black characters) of the kind we now focus on obsessively in trying to understand how Trump got elected. These sections were also immensely truthful I thought, something I realize now that I've lived in not dissimilar places (albeit in at the other end of the state). I could take you to any number places nearby that still look exactly like those streets, bars, and stores. What I wouldn't have really got first time round is just how important it is that the film focuses so closely on a particular ethnic group (Russians, but it could have been Greeks or Italians or Poles or some other). This is another part of its truth: white America is actually an immense patchwork.

The first section in Vietnam has non sequiturs, gaps and implausibilities but I think its impressionistic method is meant to convey the trauma they experienced. The trauma is the pivot around which the whole film turns but does not itself need to occupy a large chunk of the story telling. But I found the return to Vietnam, as Saigon falls, completely implausible and unnecessary.

What is really weird however are the hunting scenes in the mountains - which are categorically not shot in Pennsylvania, which does not have rocky peaks and glaciers. The town scenes were patently filmed in Pennsylvania. The western part of the state is stunningly beautiful - why did they not film it there? It makes no sense.