UKC

A new month already! Succumbed to the temptation of watching Logan on the plane back from climbing in the US... not quite as good as some critics seem to imply (dragged a little in places and then overrushed parts of the ending) but very enjoyable and thoughtful super hero fare that I'll have to watch again sometime on some format where I can see it properly.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/logan_2017

In reply to Offwidth:

Baby Driver is worth a look, great sound track and though the story has its weaknesses, I think it gets away with it. There are some pretty cool getaway driver scenes and Jamie Fox/Kevin Spacey give solid performances.

In reply to Offwidth:

I gave it 8/10 when it came out and I was being pretty generous, looking back. Remember that when it came out it was getting loads of 10/10 reviews from professional critics who really should know better - so perhaps I was subconsciously boosting my score so as not to look like I was trying to be a grinch!
Being careful not to do a spoiler, that bit where they encounter some characters who might as well have all had "DEAD MEAT" written across their foreheads, really let it down in a way that can't be recovered from.

In reply to Steve Perry:

Foxx was awful and nearly killed the film! I didn't understand what they were trying for, with his performance.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Each to their own, I liked him as the bad ass.

In reply to Steve Perry:

Indeed, each to their own, sorry, I should have made this clearer.
I was a bit let down by Baby Driver, given all the adulation heaped on it. Some of it is my fault for expecting it to have been funny just because of Edgar Wright's name on it. But Ansel Elgort was very very cool.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Ah ok, I went in to the movie not knowing or expecting anything so maybe that's why it worked for me. I actually thought i was about to watch a full on comedy! Sometimes a lack of research pays off, but rarely.

In reply to Steve Perry:

X plus Y

Beautiful little British film about an autistic mathematical prodigy coming to terms with his emitions.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_brilliant_young_mind/

In reply to Offwidth:

The nocturnal type.....?

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Maybe the aptly Freudian type!?

In reply to Offwidth:

That would be "getting to grips with his emitions" surely

In reply to Offwidth:

Does Sally Hawkins manage to not be incredibly annoying to the point of unwatchability, in this?
Her performance is Blue Jasmine is the ONLY performance of hers that I've truly liked and been impressed by. Her presence on the cast list of a film actually reduced my interest in said film

In reply to Offwidth:

My thoughts on Bladerunner 2049 are on one of the Bladerunner threads.

I've seen "Goodbye Christopher Robin" which surprisingly was not as dreary as the marketing makes it look. Certainly had a "television movie" feel to it (no surprise from the director of My Week With Marilyn) but I found it an engaging enough story, and something I didn't know about (A A Milne and especially his wife exploiting the celebrity that their son the real Christopher Robin found when the Winnie the Pooh books became a publishing phenomenon).
I am big fan of Domnhall Gleeson and to be honest it was his name on the poster that drew me to to this film.
I never read any of the A A Milne books. but this didn't matter.
The film is glossy chocolate-box nostalgia for a prettified period England, but somehow this treatment seemed fitting.
7/10

In reply to Blue Straggler:

not a fan of happy go lucky then? I think she's fantastic in that

In reply to Blue Straggler:

She fits in perfectly as the struggling nerve-racked mother who tragically lost her husband and is trying her best to deal with the issues arising from her son's character. Plus a memorable screen kiss.

In reply to Kimono:

Not seen it, sorry! I know it's like her "calling card" and all that but it never appealed to me. I am sure her performance is good. I suppose I did like her as the original Ping in that Radio 4 comedy about the failing author. Ed Reardon's Week, that was it.

In reply to Offwidth:

She's just so.....SALLY HAWKINS in everything. That's not so much a reflection on her acting ability as on the casting directors looking at scripts and thinking "who shall we get to play this rather Sally-Hawkins-esque character?"
Example: as the teacher in Never Let Me Go.

In reply to Offwidth:

"Loving Vincent" an animated film painted in the style of Van Gogh looks as though it is going to be a masterpiece?

In reply to Offwidth:

'October 2017', will be-
October: Ten Day That Shook the World-100 years anniversary in memory of the greatest revolution in history.

In reply to Offwidth:

I watched 'All Aboard!' last night.
At two hours, it's quite an epic.
The cinemaphotography was fantastic. I thought the plot was a bit linear, you knew where it was heading, but it did have a few good twists and turns.
Dialogue, very limited, but I think anymore would have been a distraction.

Highly recommended - 4 stars.

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Had to google her to find out who you were on about - clearly not made as much impact on me as she has on you.

Don't remember her in Never Let Me Go, or Paddington, but think she was excellent in Fingersmith. Well Fingersmith was excellent, and like a good referee, if you don't notice the actors then that's usually a good thing.


Anyone seen Death of Stalin ?

I watched Blade Runner 2 the other night, yawn. It was a bit like a night-time transatlantic flight and would have been much improved with some eye covers, ear plugs, a neck brace, a couple of stiff drinks and a sleeping tablet.

Harrison Ford was ok but, man, you have to wait an age for him to appear. The plot "twist" was of the sort where you slap yourself in the head not because it was so clever but because it so insulting obvious that you'd dismissed it as a feint and that sex scene - possibly the worst ever one film, who'd have thought technology could possibly be so bad? plus the plot rip offs from left right and centre and the oh so subtle product placement everywhere.

Can I have my pounds back?

In reply to Chris the Tall:


It will be yet probably more lies spread about great man by British using lies that were original spread by British,Nazis and American ruling class.

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Watched this yesterday. As you’d expect from Iannucci, extremely funny: plenty of laughing out loud from the audience. But also plenty of wincing, since, as you’d expect from the subject matter, it’s extremely dark. The grim context is certainly never trivialised and it’s sometimes hard to know which of the horrific absurdities are invented and which historically accurate, adding to the disorientation and unease. Outstanding in a starry cast, Simon Russel Beale is brilliant as Beria: complex and nuanced, drawing on all the huge range that makes him one of our greatest Shakespearean actors (the best Prospero I’ve seen in almost 50 years of RSC going). Brilliant satire treading the tragedy/farce line with real style. 8/10.

In reply to Offwidth:

Also watched The Party yesterday. Sadly this seems to have had a pretty limited release, so thank goodness for our marvellous Electric Cinema here in Birmingham. I definitely recommend making the effort to catch this if you can. As another brilliant dark satire I enjoyed it as much as The Death of Stalin. Kristin Scott Thomas gives an excellent performance as a politician throwing a dinner party to celebrate her recent appointment to the cabinet, which rapidly spirals into black farce as revelations explode to the surface. It could easily be a one act play, given the sharp and mordantly zingy script, but it’s made entirely filmic by the excellent black and white cinematography. Lovely camerawork throughout. Good final twist, which I must confess I predicted wrong! I think this will divide opinion more than The Death of Stalin, but for me it’s up there with Abigail’s Party. Another 8/10.