What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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House (1985-USA) **
Why this cheap, instantly forgettable tongue-in-cheek horror spawned a franchise remains a mystery.
The Vietnam scenes look like they were filmed in the producer's back garden.
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The Shallows (2016-USA) **
Blake Lively wears a bikini well; that's about the best that can be said for this CGI smothered survival thriller.
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Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016-USA) *½
Comedies are subjective at the best of times, almost impossible to fathom when they're not aimed at your demographic.
Consider me about 20 years too old for this profane, vulgar parody of the hip hop/pop music industry.
Most of the references (and thus the "gags") went over my head; the ones I understood weren't particularly funny.
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The Purge: Election Year (2016-USA-France) **½
An action satire for liberals, democrats, and left-wingers in general, that couldn't be timelier in the now Trump-era.
Better than the first, but not as good as the second; ideas are rich, provocative, but execution is seriously lacking in subtlety, and characters we actually care about (beyond their obvious politics).
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Exam (2009-UK) ***
Intelligent, compact thriller, wrings considerable suspense out of its one-set, high-stakes mystery. A real sleeper.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Batman:Return Of The Caped Crusaders 2.5/5
An ancient sounding Adam West & Burt Ward return in this new animated feature based on the iconic 60's tv series. Good fun but the animation is very weak.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Doctor Strange: 3/5

Not quite what I expected from a Marvel film - far more mystical and philosophical than I thought it would be. For the beginning of the film I thought it was more of a human drama than anything, and the training sequences and some of the philosophical/spiritual stuff reminded me of a 70's kung fu movie.
Strange's character is an arrogant asshat and not really likeable.
Its mostly in the 2nd act it becomes more fantastical but even then it doesnt seem to be about "physical" feats (strength or power) etc... :?
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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saltysam wrote:Batman:Return Of The Caped Crusaders 2.5/5
An ancient sounding Adam West & Burt Ward return in this new animated feature based on the iconic 60's tv series. Good fun but the animation is very weak.
It's weird how WB is suddenly releasing these animated movies to theatres, but the animation for this and The Killing Joke is far worse than that for DTV titles like Under the Red Hood and The Dark Knight Returns.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Amour (France/Austria, 2012) [DVD] - 3/5
This is such a highly regarded film that I feel almost guilty not rating it higher. I found the first 40 minutes to be strong, and there are great scenes throughout the film, but ultimately it just couldn't always keep my interest.

There Will Be Blood (USA, 2007) [BD] - 3.5/5
This had a bit of the same problem as Amour: it started strong, but by the time we got to the scenes with Daniel Day Lewis with his brother, I was starting to lose a bit of my interest. Thankfully things get more interesting later again.
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In the Dark Half (2012-UK) *½
Bleak, dreary psychological chiller, full of symbolism, little else.
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Elle (2015-France-Germany-Belgium) **
The words 'Paul Verhoeven' and 'Erotic Thriller' promise a great deal, but this ponderous, uncomfortable drama fails to deliver the goods. Isabelle Huppert (still sexy at sixty, though her character is supposed to be much younger) is the whole show, and if you're an admirer of her work, this is probably a must see; but where's style, flair, and audacity we've come to expect from this director? This is no Basic Instinct. It's not even Showgirls. The plot centres around rape, and whilst (surprisingly) not terribly graphic, the victim's reaction leaves a dubious taste, as she becomes increasingly attracted to her attacker. But even this controversial aspect is dull and safe in its handling. So, instead of an offensive movie with balls, we're just left with an offensive movie. Puzzling, really.
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Don't Breathe (2015-USA) *½
Three teenage scumbags decide to rob a blind war veteran -- except he's a total psycho.
A joyless horror film with no one to root for -- so why bother?
No better than much similar product that goes straight to digital download.

Dance Flick (2009-USA) **
You know what to expect from The Wayans Bros.
Sporadic laughs, a lot of misses; seeing all the movies spoofed (which I haven't) might help.
Worth the extra half star for managing to get 'cunt' said in a PG-13.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Accountant: 3/5

Muddled thriller with Ben Affleck playing a guy who launders money and "cooks the books" for criminal organisations is a slow burner, but I thought it was an interesting choice his character had ASC/high functioning autism. I don't know if thats a good thing in the context of the movie (however he does play his part well), as his character isn't a "good" guy, so I think in this respect, it makes ASC look bad (I wasn't always sure what to think) but some of the traits he displayed (strict routine, noise sensitivity, difficulty interacting/connecting with other people, talented with numbers etc - some of his story and experience is told via flashbacks) will surely seem familliar to some people who have autism. But sometimes I felt it focused on aspects of the old Rain Man style of savant, which has become something of a stereotype.
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Paddington (2014-UK-France) ***
Good fun for all the family.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Die Hard (1988): 4.5/5

Action classic that I really enjoyed watching, can't believe its nearly 30 years old :o
Seems to show how much time has moved on however when I'm sure you'd see more violence in 15 rated movies these days though.
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Die Hard is now a '15'.

Only two bits that keep it as an '18' for me are the blowing off of Takagi's head and the kneecapping (yes, there's more violence in films today, but it's a lot less effective than old school squibs).
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Guest (USA, 2014) [VoD] - 4/5
A certain Swede put it better than I ever could, so let me just quote him on this being like a "John Carpenter movie released for Cannon". A very entertaining, stylish horror/action mash up with a killer soundtrack and enjoyable performances. It also feels less like a tribute to 80s films than a film made by a director who just happened to be born 20 years too late. Oh, and extra points from occasionally resembling Halloween III (which is, of course, a small gem)!
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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2015-USA) **½
Tina Fey (slightly stretching) stars as a mousy reporter covering the Afghan war in this moderately engaging comedy-drama.

Nerve (2016-USA) **½
Zippy thriller captures the millennial zeitgeist and perils of social media culture without ever feeling substantial.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote:Die Hard (1988): 4.5/5

Action classic that I really enjoyed watching, can't believe its nearly 30 years old :o
Seems to show how much time has moved on however when I'm sure you'd see more violence in 15 rated movies these days though.
I remember seeing it first in the theater (Vintage Faire which is now gone and a Dicks Sporting Goods is in its place) as a young'un. I was pretty stoked and had wore away my ticket stub intrigued by the action. Had no idea what to expect since it was Bruce Willis who I knew from Moonlighting. Still a favorite all these years later.
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The Rewrite (2014-USA) ***
Enjoyable, witty romcom stars Hugh Grant (on fine form) as a middle-aged screenwriter reduced to teaching college to make a buck. Nothing earth-shattering, but in a world of crude, obnoxious, and stupid Hollywood comedies, I like it a fair bit. And Marisa Tomei is still hot at 50.
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Brewster's Millions (1985-USA) **
A sure fire premise (spend $30m in thirty days to inherit $300m) and two top comedy stars (Richard Pryor, John Candy) are somewhat wasted in this innocuous, but not terribly funny comedy (the umpteenth screen version). Hiring action guys Walter Hill (to direct) and Joel Silver (to produce) probably wasn't the best idea.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Groundhog Day (USA, 1993) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Pleasant romantic comedy comes with a valuable message, but feels a bit long at 101 min.

Jason Bourne (USA, 2016) [Flight] – 1.5/5
While I’ve never been a fan of Greengrass’ Bourne films, this is a complete mess. Not only are the shakycam action scenes impossible the follow, the screenplay is incredibly dumb. The film is filled with super-intelligent agents and assassins who make silly mistakes whenever there is a need for an action scene. Which brings us to the next problem: the action is pure comic book ridiculousness where people walk out without a scratch from situations that even Batman wouldn’t survive. In a superhero film that might be almost ok, but here it looks just incredibly dumb.
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Rogue One (USA, 2016) [DCP] – 2.5/5
New Star Wars film is a standard sci-fi action, the kind of film you imagined when Disney announced they’d milk the franchise till the end of times. Pretty decent plot with some political undertones carries most of the film despite mediocre characters (Donnie Yen is a small stand out) and largely murky visuals, but the last 40 minutes is a let down: the kind of standard action/war climax we’ve seen countless times before, done without much style or originality. The film has a couple of fun jokes, though they sadly underestimate the audience by always adding an explanation after the punch line in case the audience didn’t get it.
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Judgment Night (1993-USA-Japan) ***½
Suspenseful urban thriller; the best Hollywood film ever to go straight to VHS in the UK.
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Nighthawks (1981-USA) ***
Gritty Stallone vs Terrorism thriller.
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