[andy popp]

We watched Killers of the Flower Moon last night: Scorsese at his very best and in some ways deep in the territory he's best known for: bad men doing bad, grubby things according to skewed moral compasses, only switched to the plains of Oklahoma. Apparently the book it's based on makes it a whodunit, but Scorsese makes the whodunit obvious from the very start, making it much about how and why. So in some ways there's no suspense but he keeps it absolutely compelling throughout and deeply troubling. Many very good or great performances but Lily Gladstone stands out. It's long (three and a half) but brilliantly paced I thought. Didn't think about the time once.

[TobyD]

It (mortal engines) certainly seems as though it's being set up for a sequel at the end. I'd imagine perhaps that was planned but possibly scuppered by the pandemic?

There are 7 books, so more were no doubt planned, but seems to be it wasn't that popular / successful so was never continued, a bit like the original Golden Compass movie.

Perhaps; although I thought the golden compass movie was mediocre at best but mortal engines was great. The BBC adaptation of HDM on the other hand was absolutely brilliant.
Maybe mortal engines is best left unsequelled, sequels too often detract from the original rather than adding to it.

[tommytwotone]

Shout out for Film4 (so on the Channel 4 app, whatever it's calling itself this week) and their Halloween selection. Amongst others they have Midsommar, Hereditary, Kill List and Event Horizon.

Watching that lot back to back would probably stop you sleeping properly for about a month!

[spidermonkey09]

Get Out on iPlayer. Daniel Kaluuya is really good. Great film, both unsettling and deeply awkward in a Peep Show sense. Its marketed as a horror but I thought it was more of a scary thriller, it only gets a bit gory at the end. Highly recommended.

[Paul B]

We watched Killers of the Flower Moon last night: Scorsese at his very best

Does it need to be 3h25 long?

[andy popp]

We watched Killers of the Flower Moon last night: Scorsese at his very best

Does it need to be 3h25 long?

When I say at this very best, I mean I thought it was in the very top flight of his films (not necessarily the best). Does it need to be that length? I guess not, but I honestly thought it perfectly paced and never over long.  There was nothing I wished we'd done without. Obviously many people will disagree and find it much too long.

[Dingdong]

We watched Killers of the Flower Moon last night: Scorsese at his very best and in some ways deep in the territory he's best known for: bad men doing bad, grubby things according to skewed moral compasses, only switched to the plains of Oklahoma. Apparently the book it's based on makes it a whodunit, but Scorsese makes the whodunit obvious from the very start, making it much about how and why. So in some ways there's no suspense but he keeps it absolutely compelling throughout and deeply troubling. Many very good or great performances but Lily Gladstone stands out. It's long (three and a half) but brilliantly paced I thought. Didn't think about the time once.

Was the film more focussed on the treatment of the natives? When I read the book to me it never read like a whodunit but more around how the white people treated the native community before and after the oil. The first half reads like a novella but about halfway it becomes a full on investigative journalist article, it’s a very, very good book and worth a read even if you’ve seen the film!

[andy popp]

It's hard for me to comment as I've not read the book, though I would very much like to; I've only heard good things about it. My comment came from the fact that just about every single review mentions that the film is much less investigative than the book. But like I said, I'm not really able to judge.

Back to the length; the obvious comparison is The Irishman, another recent Scorsese that is also very long. I quite enjoyed The Irishman because its Philly and features lots of places I know well, but it's not great by any means and definitely too long. It felt like a swansong. In comparison KOTFM is an infinitely better film, full of new energy, and the running time doesn't feel like an indulgence.

[slab_happy]

Haven't seen the film or read the book, but I've read some articles on how closely the Osage Nation worked with Scorsese on the film -- apparently he made a decision in the process that he didn't want to be "making a movie about all the white guys", so it's less focused on the FBI investigation:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/21/entertainment/killers-of-the-flower-moon-osage-nation-cec/index.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-osage-changed-martin-scorseses-mind-180983094/

[Dingdong]

Haven't seen the film or read the book, but I've read some articles on how closely the Osage Nation worked with Scorsese on the film -- apparently he made a decision in the process that he didn't want to be "making a movie about all the white guys", so it's less focused on the FBI investigation:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/21/entertainment/killers-of-the-flower-moon-osage-nation-cec/index.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-osage-changed-martin-scorseses-mind-180983094/

That’s good to hear, the thing that captivated me most when reading it was the treatment of the Osage by their, what is essentially white owners who were assigned to manage their money and assets as apparently they couldn’t be entrusted to handle their own finances also just generally how a lot of them would fall into pits of alcohol and drug addiction. It’s so sad and infuriating even more so when you realise it didn’t happen that long ago.

[seankenny]

1984 on Prime - released back in 1984 and staring John Hurt and Richard Burton. A rather strange film. It’s half relentless realism, all decaying flats and announcements about pig iron production, and half a fantasy dreamscape of pastoral England. It’s a good watch, there’s something missing or misplaced about it but I can’t put my finger on exactly what.

[SA Chris]

Have you read the book? Follows it reasonably closely I seem to recall.

[seankenny]

Have you read the book? Follows it reasonably closely I seem to recall.

Several times. I agree the order of events in the film is very faithful to the book, it just feels different. In the book Winston’s struggles with memory are very important, less so in the film, but that’s just the nature of the medium I guess.

[SA Chris]

I should probably get onto both again. I haven't read the book since... well, 1984.

[seankenny]

I should probably get onto both again. I haven't read the book since... well, 1984.

  Recommend the film for sure.

[SA Chris]

Sure I saw it about the same time. Going off Prime in 5 days, better grab a rewatch now!

[Will Hunt]

Massive Talent is on Netflix. We watched last night and it was great fun.

[Bradders]

Hell or High Water

On Netflix. Has a bit of a No Country for Old Men / Coen Brothers feel to it at times, in a really good way, although by the end it settles back into some classic action tropes. Certainly doesn't tread much new ground but what it does it does very well indeed.

NSFW  :

That said, the final bank robbery being undone by the legions of concealed carry firearm toting Texans is absolutely classic, a brilliant little microcosm of the firearms debate and, from a British perspective, clear evidence for why it's so stupid.

I'd never heard of it before stumbling across it today but it picked up a bunch of deserved award nominations when it came out. Morally ambiguous (in a fairly simple kind of way) and with some great performances, snappy dialogue, Jeff Bridges in particularly fine form. Written by the same person who did Sicario not that it's as stylishly done / directed and nowhere near as violent. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Falling Down]

Great movie. I’ve watched it twice. Good recommendation.

We watched The Burial last night. A proper classic courtroom drama. Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx. Foxx is ace in it.

[Moo]

I love hell or high water the casting in it is perfect.

[warmonke]

Watched Memories of Murder and Barking Dogs Never Bite by Bong Joon-ho this week; both incredible (Barking Dogs is slightly more light-hearted despite the animal cruelty) and both on Channel 4 streaming atm! Would highly recommend

[SA Chris]

Watched The Hitman's Bodyguard with son the other day, low maintenance, and a lot of fun, we both thought it was great.. be warned, a lot of swearing though, even for a 15 rating.

[tommytwotone]

I've posted similar on social media but there's a good crop of horror / thriller stuff knocking about with it being that time of year...

Hereditary, Midsommar on C4 (also Kill List and Under The Skin, not strictly horror but both bloody unsettling)
The Shining, Us, Get Out on BBC
Scream, various Saws on Netflix
Blair Witch, Suspiria on Prime
28 Days / Weeks Later and all the Alien stuff on Disney +

[SA Chris]

Also

The Revenant (not the LDC one). Soldier dies in strange circumstance, comes back from the dead, wanders about drinking blood and causing mayhem. Very gory and pretty funny, with surprising finale.

As i posted earlier.

[Fiend]

Checked the trailer of that (2009), looks quite fun.