[Falling Down]

Moose - It’s probably all a bit of a tangle! This is the one I was talking about.

“In 1997, a 44-minute shootout occurred in North Hollywood in which the gunmen, Emil Matasareanu and Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr., robbed a Bank of America wearing heavy body armor and carrying assault rifles. The shootout ended with both gunmen dead— Matasareanu was shot 29 times and wasn’t given any medical attention. It was later revealed that the gunmen had cited Heat as an influence for the robbery.“

Lots of love for Heat on this thread!

[crzylgs]

Isn't the restaurant part the only one ever where De Niro and Pacino are in the same scene?

Arguably they are also both in the 'escape from bank job scene' but probably not in the same shot and don't share dialogue with each other, if this is what you specifically meant. Interestingly when the film came out on TV back in the day, in the pre-widescreen 4:3 ratio apparently it made the restaurant scene look really dodgy as if they weren't in it together. Made for an incorrect rumour that the two hadn't wanted to be around each other etc.

No. They are together in the final scene which is a fitting end to a great film. It conveys the mutual respect for each other. Good use of Moby's god moving over the face of waters too.

Indeed it is a great ending to the movie, both flawed characters designed to leave the viewer in two minds as to who should 'win' the day. Another piece of trivia is that in an earlier version of the script Al Pacino's character was a raging coke addict, doing a bump or two virtually every scene. Although this was cut from the film in the final script... Al decided to run with it as is apparently incorporating it into his acting... Which in hindsight totally makes sense 

[cowboyhat]

I've never liked the ending of Heat, I thought it should have been more ambiguous.

Good podcast recommendation that, i like bill simmons. Film podcast I listen to, 'The Directors Cut' which also gets really top guests on.

Where was that Sun Ra documentary?

I know I've mentioned it before but the documentary about The Other side of the Wind is an amazing companion piece to the film.

[Bradders]

No. They are together in the final scene which is a fitting end to a great film. It conveys the mutual respect for each other. Good use of Moby's god moving over the face of waters too.

As well as the bank job scene and ending chase, they're also in a few other scenes together but again don't share direct dialogue, for example;

- Pacino spying on De Niro and crew leaving a restaurant having identified them as the suspects
- De Niro spying on Pacino at a dock/container yard having found out they're being watched
- Stealth theft where Pacino is spying from a lorry and De Niro realises so they bin off the job (they don't share dialogue but there's a moment where they almost stare one another down)

Sure there are one or two others. Either way, it builds the tension brilliantly as they sort of close in on one another.

[jwi]

I am surprised about the love for Heat. I went to the movies to see it when it came out, and was extraordinarily bored by the whole thing. I was very close leaving when there was a 15 minutes remaining as that would have allowed me to take an earlier bus. If I had watched on telly I would never have watched it through. Have not seen it since, and just assumed that everyone else also found the film a boring failure.

[Will Hunt]

I actually watched it last night on the strength of these reviews. Some of the scenes are brilliant, but these are interspersed with a LOT of quite dull scenes (building the tension? Hmmmm).
It's 2 hours and 50 minutes. You can't tell me that some of that couldn't be left on the cutting room floor. Certainly the pointless (other than that's what 90's action films had to have) sex scenes.

[tomtom]

I actually watched it last night on the strength of these reviews. Some of the scenes are brilliant, but these are interspersed with a LOT of quite dull scenes (building the tension? Hmmmm).
It's 2 hours and 50 minutes. You can't tell me that some of that couldn't be left on the cutting room floor. Certainly the pointless (other than that's what 90's action films had to have) sex scenes.

Just as well you’re not a millennial 😃

[TobyD]

 Heat is a decent action movie,  but I'd say that both De Niro and Pacino have done several considerably better films each. Scarface, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull...

[Will Hunt]

I actually watched it last night on the strength of these reviews. Some of the scenes are brilliant, but these are interspersed with a LOT of quite dull scenes (building the tension? Hmmmm).
It's 2 hours and 50 minutes. You can't tell me that some of that couldn't be left on the cutting room floor. Certainly the pointless (other than that's what 90's action films had to have) sex scenes.

Just as well you’re not a millennial 😃

On the contrary, I am! Our family spent many a Friday evening in the late 90's and early 00's watching whatever we'd found to rent from Visions Video (now an independent interior furnishings shop, I think). I've seen plenty of nineties action films and they always seemed to have some sex scene or other that served no plot purpose. It's really quite jarring when held up against later cinema.

[Fultonius]

Some things I can remember from my 2 x 14hr flights:

Beats
Great wee film about 2 lads who potentially shouldn't be mates getting up to drug / booze related teenage shananigans. Warm, funny, true to life. Made me want to find a quarry and go heidbangin!

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Can't really add much to what's already been said. Enjoyed it.

The Peanut Butter Falcon. Not maybe the strongest opening, and verging on twee, but really quite an uplifting and hamfistedly touching film.

Happy New Year Colin Burstead A good family feud caper. Sometimes a bit cliché, but entertaining. Never really goes anywhere, but doesn't fall off a cliff either.

Maradona Neither a big football fan, nor remembering much from the time (was just a bairn), I had really enjoyed both Senna and Amy and had heard the director on R4, so was very keen to see this. Brilliant. So many mirrors of Amy's story - the inability to manage the fame, the hanger-oners and users. Fantastic film. Must see.

Also started watching the BBC thing about the couple in therapy, which was quite amusing until I realised that while I was sleeping at 40,000ft we'd suddenly just lost our EU rights....

[dunnyg]

Watched once upon a time in holywood. Thought it was pretty dire. Thought the same of the irishman. I watch films for entertainment or occaisionally to provoke thought. Both of these films seemed cut from the same cloth, in that they werent entertaining and the main thought they provoked was how much longer. I had high hopes for once upon a time, and was left pretty disappointed. I have enjoyed every other tarentino film I have seen, so I was really hoping for a goody!

[TobyD]

Excellent news:

Studio Ghibli’s films are coming to Netflix. Make time to binge every one

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/02/studio-ghibli-netflix-binge-japanese-animation?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Bingeing every one would be quite a feat, I love Ghibli movies though.

[SA Chris]

I'd recommend going for the best known ones mentioned there and work your way down.

Some are utterly brilliant, but the lesser known ones are a bit meh.

[cheque]

Jesus, that's made me remember Grave of the Fireflies. Make sure you're in a good place before you watch that one!

[jwi]

Make sure you're in a good place before you watch that one!

It is possibly the saddest film I ever saw. I still don't know what to think... That's good I suppose. But I don't think I'll read the novel anytime soon.

[SA Chris]

As far from Totoro or Spirited Away as you can get.

[Falling Down]

It was on Amazon Prime and it’s here on YouTube

[nik at work]

The Lighthouse
An hour long Guiness advert, feels like the glowing reviews might have fallen for the emperor’s new clothes...

[tomtom]

Just finished Darkest Hour. With Gary Oldman as Churchill. Really enjoyed it - great back story on all the shenanigans going on at the onset of ww2.

[TobyD]

Get yourselves to the cinema and see Parasite as soon as you can. I've wondered for a while why critics bleat on about how good South Korean cinema is. Now I see that they are not just trying to be niche or clever, this is just straightforwardly brilliant, entertaining film making.

And don't read any reviews or synopses, see it as soon as possible before you see any spoilers.

[TobyD]

A worthy winner of the best film Oscar, too incidentally. However I think Mendes should have got best director for 1917 instead

[Alex-the-Alex]

oooh really looking forward to seeing parasite. Full convert to korean film. Old Boy blew my puby little mind at 15 and i havnt regreted any others ive watched. I watched the wailing last halloween and couldnt stop thinking about it for the rest of month. Its something else.

[Mugabe251]

If you're late to the South Korean cinema party and picking it up after Parasite has been thoroughly shilled in the media over the past week or so, you might enjoy these:

Memories of Murder - Superb misanthropic serial killer drama with dark comedy elements. Two ridiculous thugs who've wrangled work as detectives are put onto a case in their small rural town experience a spate of rape/murders targeting women. Cynical, highly-experienced homicide detective from the city arrives to assist in what turns out to be an incredibly complex and disturbing case. Incidentally directed by Bong Joon-Ho and starring Song Kang Ho of Parasite.

The Chaser - Quite a novel plot revolving around a disgraced cop turned reprobate pimp losing one of his girls to a suspected killer. A very intense, claustrophobic and frustrating experience, which sees a gradual metamorphosis of the main character as he begins tracking down what is originally just a valuable asset.

I Saw The Devil - Sort of a more realistic, darker John Wick-esque revenge drama. Bodyguard with special forces training loses his wife to a psychopathic serial murderer, played excellently by Choi Min Sik (star of Oldboy). Cue ultra-violent cat and mouse game as the protagonist gradually becomes more outlandish and sadistic as he takes his game further and further, growing ever more callous until eventually he beings losing whatever little humanity he had left. Somewhat violent to the extreme, but a great concept carried out brilliantly.

[crzylgs]

I'm not especially on the South Korean train (even though I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated Parasite) but the description you've given those 3 films makes them all sound well worth a watch.

Will work through them when I can, cheers!

[tomtom]

Speaking of trains... (this may be what you were talking about - sorry) but Snowpiercer is doing the rounds on Film4 at the moment https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706620/

Its weird - but quite good. Don't let the unusual concept (or the insect food) put you off!