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Post by solotheatregoer on Nov 17, 2023 21:56:12 GMT
Saltburn - agree that this is more style over substance. The best thing about this was Rosamund Pike’s performance. You also won’t get Murder on the Dancefloor out of your head for days after watching!
May December - disappointing after all the hype. Outstanding performance as usual from Natalie Portman but I really dislike this trend of ironic, anti-climactic endings after a long build up (the same reason I disliked Tar). Doesn’t really go anywhere and could have been so much better with a more effective ending.
Really hoping Napoleon lives up to my expectations next week.
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 17, 2023 23:08:18 GMT
Saltburn - agree that this is more style over substance. The best thing about this was Rosamund Pike’s performance. You also won’t get Murder on the Dancefloor out of your head for days after watching! May December - disappointing after all the hype. Outstanding performance as usual from Natalie Portman but I really dislike this trend of ironic, anti-climactic endings after a long build up (the same reason I disliked Tar). Doesn’t really go anywhere and could have been so much better with a more effective ending. Really hoping Napoleon lives up to my expectations next week. Interesting! I remember feeling wholly satisfied with the conclusion of Tar, what was it that you disliked? |
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Post by Jon on Nov 18, 2023 1:02:23 GMT
I saw Saltburn tonight and quite liked it, I would say it's a bit WTF at times but I did love the performances and Emerald Fennell has a great taste in music.
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Post by showgirl on Nov 18, 2023 14:42:07 GMT
I'd booked to see a preview of Saltburn, then wasn't able to go so assumed I'd need to rebook, but then hesitated. The trailer doesn't encourage me in the least and as for watching anything that long with Barry Keoghan in the lead or playing one of them... no, actually, I'll either give it a miss after all or read a lot more reviews before making a decision. What I did manage to see was Dream Scenario, which was OK but disappointing, particularly the way it seemed to peter out towards the end rather than reach a conclusion. What was the point of it? Too unpleasant at times to be solely for entertainment but not sufficiently satisfying as an experiment, either. May - December was also on my list of "must see" new releases until I read jek 's comments above; not sure about that either now, but I definitely need to see something good (following Anatomy Of A Fall) and more uplifting. |
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Post by jek on Nov 18, 2023 19:13:31 GMT
Uplifting seems to be thin on the ground at the moment showgirl. We went to see the documentary The Mission this afternoon about the young evangelical missionary who decided to go and spread the word among an isolated island tribe with catastrophic results. It's fascinating but certainly not uplifting. My 22 year old daughter went to see Saltburn this afternoon and described it as a one star movie. And on paper it looked like she was the target audience. Roll on Fallen Leaves! |
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Post by showgirl on Nov 19, 2023 4:26:19 GMT
Indeed, jek : I too had been going to say "roll on Fallen Leaves" but despite having only just seen the trailer, I couldn't remember the film title; nor could I be bothered to look it up. At least that looks like heart and humour sneaking slyly into apparent bleakness. |
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Post by mkb on Nov 21, 2023 1:23:40 GMT
A Forgotten Man ***
A "documented fiction" concerning the Swiss ambassador to Berlin during World War II returning home after Germany's defeat, is used as a dramatic device to argue that Switzerland's neutrality may have been largely a myth. The history is interesting, the acting good, but the narrative does not work. The diplomat is haunted in his conscience by a character it seems he may not actually have met, and some of the dialogue lacks credibility. If you can accept that events are symbolic rather than real, maybe you can get more out of this than I could.
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Post by mkb on Nov 21, 2023 1:40:13 GMT
Thanksgiving ****
I am going to say it without blushing: I really enjoyed this movie; it's terrific fun. I think it's knowingly a spoof of the genre rather than unwittingly bad, as there are multiple laugh-out-loud moments at corny dialogue, soap opera acting and fantastically brutal death sequences, that could not be present without real skill. I am convinced the makers have their tongues firmly in their cheeks.
It has a similar vibe to Gremlins -- albeit considerably more graphic -- and a whodunnit that is straight out of Scooby Doo. Everything about Americana, from the Pilgrim Fathers to the wholesomeness of families coming together to give thanks, through to rampant commercialisation and middle-class privilege, is up for skewering. There's even a giant Turkey, and meat carving borrowed from Rocky Horror. (For film fans, there are a load more cultural references to watch out for.)
An unexpected delight!
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Post by mkb on Nov 21, 2023 2:56:32 GMT
Saltburn ***** Going in, I had no idea what kind of film to expect, other than that, with Reese Shearsmith in a cameo, it was likely to be dark. Would it be horror? Psychological thriller? Character-based drama? I had not a clue. Afterwards, I think it's fair to say that Saltburn largely carves it's own hybrid path genre-wise, and it's a fantastic, stylised ride that held me mesmerised throughout by the 1.33 aspect ratio image (close enough I guess to the 1.37 academy ratio of classic Hollywood fare before widescreen). Barry Keoghan is superb as Ollie, a modern-day, working-class antihero, with a convincing Scouse accent. At his Oxford college, and enamoured of charismatic and hedonistic fellow student Felix, Ollie accepts an offer to spend the summer vacation with Felix at his stately home, Saltburn. Felix's family of aristocratic eccentrics -- all played pitch-perfectly with a hint of the grotesque by a marvellous ensemble cast -- serve to demonstrate that guests are only ever welcomed as such and can never ever become part of their club. The socialist allegory is not subtle, but is key to allowing viewers to align their sympathies with Ollie during subequent proceedings. In fact, the key themes of the narrative resonated greatly for me. Coming from a blue-collar background and a state comprehensive to an Oxford college just across from the one featured here, I am all to aware of that feeling, when mingling with those of vast inherited wealth, that one's face does not quite fit despite the charming smiles. Writer/director Emerald Fennell has taken that deep unease, that resentment at the inequitable distribution of wealth and status, and played out a fantasy that will appal some and delight others. While there is some borrowing from past stories, the most obvious being Brideshead Revisited and The Talented Mr Ripley , it would be unfair to criticise Saltburn as derivative, as it combines ideas, new and old, in quite an original way and with an intoxicating sexual atmosphere and quite a cinematic flourish, helped by a great soundtrack. I loved it.
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Post by jek on Nov 21, 2023 22:18:45 GMT
Just back from another Picturehouse free preview for members. This time it was Joanna Hogg's The Eternal Daughter with Tilda Swinton playing both the mother and daughter roles. I went in with low expectations as I am not a huge Joanna Hogg fan but I enjoyed this more than I expected to. It is very slight - think novella rather than meaty novel - but it is well crafted and acted. If I'd been watching it at home I would have got distracted and gone off to make a cup of tea but in the cinema it kept me engaged for the 96 minutes of its run.
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Post by Jon on Nov 22, 2023 0:00:52 GMT
Saltburn ***** Going in, I had no idea what kind of film to expect, other than that, with Reese Shearsmith in a cameo, it was likely to be dark. Would it be horror? Psychological thriller? Character-based drama? I had not a clue. Afterwards, I think it's fair to say that Saltburn largely carves it's own hybrid path genre-wise, and it's a fantastic, stylised ride that held me mesmerised throughout by the 1.33 aspect ratio image (close enough I guess to the 1.37 academy ratio of classic Hollywood fare before widescreen). Barry Keoghan is superb as Ollie, a modern-day, working-class antihero, with a convincing Scouse accent. At his Oxford college, and enamoured of charismatic and hedonistic fellow student Felix, Ollie accepts an offer to spend the summer vacation with Felix at his stately home, Saltburn. Felix's family of aristocratic eccentrics -- all played pitch-perfectly with a hint of the grotesque by a marvellous ensemble cast -- serve to demonstrate that guests are only ever welcomed as such and can never ever become part of their club. The socialist allegory is not subtle, but is key to allowing viewers to align their sympathies with Ollie during subequent proceedings. In fact, the key themes of the narrative resonated greatly for me. Coming from a blue-collar background and a state comprehensive to an Oxford college just across from the one featured here, I am all to aware of that feeling, when mingling with those of vast inherited wealth, that one's face does not quite fit despite the charming smiles. Writer/director Emerald Fennell has taken that deep unease, that resentment at the inequitable distribution of wealth and status, and played out a fantasy that will appal some and delight others. While there is some borrowing from past stories, the most obvious being Brideshead Revisited and The Talented Mr Ripley , it would be unfair to criticise Saltburn as derivative, as it combines ideas, new and old, in quite an original way and with an intoxicating sexual atmosphere and quite a cinematic flourish, helped by a great soundtrack. I loved it. I did like the film but I do think Barry Keoghan's casting as Oliver made the twist he was well off a bit unsurprising and frankly I didn't trust him from the beginning . Loved the ending though, Carey Mulligan as Pamela was a hoot, wish she had more screen time. |
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Post by mkb on Nov 22, 2023 0:58:33 GMT
May December *** It looks like I enjoyed this more than the two earlier posters. I could have rated higher this intelligent dissection of the morality of love when the male is under the age of consent but is experienced and does all the seduction, while the (much) older woman is the more naive and emotionally weak. I liked the treatment, the naturalistic dialogue and the first-rate acting from the leads, but I didn't buy the man's belated (i.e. 24 years later) onset of victimhood. What I especially disliked was the score, with its dramatic piano inappropriately accompanying scenes, giallo-style, as though some killer is about to jump-scare. There's an early scene where this effect, i.e. stabbing piano chords, is used simply because the lead realises she does not have enough hot dogs for a barbecue. The music choice is bizarre and senseless and ruins the mood; I knocked off a star from the rating for that.
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Post by solotheatregoer on Nov 22, 2023 10:59:24 GMT
May December *** It looks like I enjoyed this more than the two earlier posters. I could have rated higher this intelligent dissection of the morality of love when the male is under the age of consent but is experienced and does all the seduction, while the (much) older woman is the more naive and emotionally weak. I liked the treatment, the naturalistic dialogue and the first-rate acting from the leads, but I didn't buy the man's belated (i.e. 24 years later) onset of victimhood. What I especially disliked was the score, with its dramatic piano inappropriately accompanying scenes, giallo-style, as though some killer is about to jump-scare. There's an early scene where this effect, i.e. stabbing piano chords, is used simply because the lead realises she does not have enough hot dogs for a barbecue. The music choice is bizarre and senseless and ruins the mood; I knocked off a star from the rating for that. Agree regarding the score! It was like some melodramatic soap opera and felt very cheap. Completely took away the tension in my opinion. |
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Post by jek on Nov 22, 2023 11:58:59 GMT
I see that the very intrusive music is lifted from The Go-Between. In an interview carried in the Radio Times Natalie Portman said that Todd Haynes told her to watch that (and also the Pumpkin Eater) as preparation for filming. These films and others were in a list he gave the cast and crew before they started filming.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Nov 22, 2023 13:08:55 GMT
As I posted in the LFF thread, May December was my favourite film of the festival and it's since become my favourite film of the year. I haven't had the chance to see it again in cinemas because it's only got a very limited release and I can't find the time to make my way to central London to see it. Nevertheless, I thought I'd offer an alternative view from the people who didn't like it/were more mixed on it.
First of all, I love the score. It's hilarious and like a 4th central character. It punctuates moments of banal, suburban problems (like running out of hot dogs at a barbecue) as if they're the most devastating and tense tragedies in the world. It brings out the melodrama and reflects the type of tawdry TV movies that are often made about these sorts of scandals, but here it's being used in a tongue in cheek way (although at times as the film goes on its used mor win earnest).
I also disagree with the above poster that the film is a dissection of the morality of relationships where the man is underaged but more experienced than his of age female counterpart. That seems to me to be giving the woman - a child rapist - far too much credit in her justifications for her crime. Perhaps it's just a poor choice of wording or you're trying to avoid spoilers but the film to me is clearly a dissection of the stories we create to justify our choices, even if those choices are indefensible. Gracie, the groomer in this story, has developed a helpless, naïve, hyper-feminine persona which she uses to manipulate Joe and justify their relationship not only to others but to herself - she was the damsel in distress, the princess in the tower and he was her knight in shining armour, he just happened to be 13 years old is all.
Of course none of that is true (if you can say that definitively I guess, so much of the film is about the unknowability of truth and the inner lives of others), Joe - the boy Gracie groomed who is now her 36 year old husband about to be an empty nester - could never have been prepared for a relationship like that with Gracie. To suggest otherwise is to vastly overestimate the emotional and sexual maturity of a 13 year old to a worrying/dangerous degree. And I also found his coming to terms with what happened to him realistic considering he clearly was already conflicted about the whole situation (he was flirting with another woman online) and the scenario reflects the real life case which was one of the major inspirations for the film, Mary Kay Letourneau.
That's barely scratching the surface of the layers upon layers this film is operating under - I've barely touched on Natalie Portman's character, the brilliant performances or the gorgeous direction and cinematography - but i wont go on any further or else we'd be here all day.
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 22, 2023 19:55:54 GMT
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) - ***
It's fine I guess, I don't really remember the Hunger Games movies if I'm being honest. I'm not the audience for this.
The studio obviously were not confident enough in this to make it a two parter, because there is such an obvious split opportunity moment that I legit thought the thing was ending. And then somehow we got another hour.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Nov 22, 2023 19:58:42 GMT
Yeah dunno where the idea that Joe did all the seduction comes from, that's clearly Gracie's justification and projection in the movie. Gracie herself reveals so, when she switches from describing herself as "very naïf" to "very secure"
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Post by mkb on Nov 23, 2023 11:37:22 GMT
The Eternal Daughter *** Masquerading as a ghost story, this never delivers on that front; the mood of pending horror is a very slow burn to nothing. Instead, it's a mildly diverting tale of loss and failure to please, but quite why it needed more than 30 minutes to tell, I don't know. Tilda Swinton captivates as always, here in dual roles as mother and daughter, but there is ultimately no pay-off. ...unless you count the twist that the mother is a memory/ghost, which was obvious from the first scene in the taxi, and by not acknowledging this directly early on, the viewer is less able to empathise with the daughter. What I did identify with was the relationship between the daughter and the couldn't-care-less hotel receptionist. So frustratingly accurate!
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Post by mkb on Nov 23, 2023 12:33:48 GMT
Dream Scenario *****
Hmmm. How to say something without giving away the plot? Let's try this...
Suppose you're an everyman who no-one notices. Someone who is boringly ordinary and doesn't stand out. Just part of the herd, perfectly amiable, but always risk-avoiding. It's a survival strategy many adopt in life.
But you feel completely alien from today's fast-paced, social-media influenced and dominated world that is driven by global marketing, obsessed with the superficial. Perhaps, coming to the twilight of your career, you had real talent that was never properly recognised, you saw others get credit that you deserved, you had serious ambition unfulfilled, and you're too trapped and scared to do or say anything about it.
Now imagine you fall deep asleep and experience one long nightmare in which all your anxieties manifest themselves. This film is that nightmare, and it's bonkers and ingenious and has plenty to say about modern life and relationships. I defy anyone of middle age not to find some resonance with the themes. There's also a deliciously dark comic mood with several LOL moments.
Nicolas Cage as the unlikely protagonist is utterly perfect, as is Julianne Nicholson as the wife whose patience is tested. As with last year's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, fans hoping for Cage's usual action-man fare will be disappointed. As he approaches 60, Cage is re-positioning himself as a far more thoughtful actor who knows his limits and is choosing (some) roles that showcase what he is capable of, and it's suprisingly more than you'd expect.
I was not familiar with the work of Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, but on the evidence here, I shall be keen to see more.
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Post by showgirl on Nov 23, 2023 18:17:53 GMT
Well, mkb, you seem to have found this far more intriguing and worthwhile than I did! |
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Post by mkb on Nov 23, 2023 18:32:38 GMT
Well, mkb, you seem to have found this far more intriguing and worthwhile than I did! It seems so! I don't know if you're old enough to remember Films Illustrated magazine from the 80s? That was great for showing ratings for each month's films from multiple critics, and the division of opinion could be stark. |
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Post by danb on Nov 23, 2023 19:58:50 GMT
‘The Marvels’ - Probably the best of the last batch of Marvel’s since ‘Shang Chi’, but still nowhere near classic. The fact that Miss Marvel was the best thing in it is no surprise. It was the most satisfactory Marvel TV show since Wandavision, and she is a great little actor. 7/10
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Post by showgirl on Nov 24, 2023 4:23:28 GMT
Well, mkb , you seem to have found this far more intriguing and worthwhile than I did! It seems so! I don't know if you're old enough to remember Films Illustrated magazine from the 80s? That was great for showing ratings for each month's films from multiple critics, and the division of opinion could be stark. I don't, but that was after my time & I do sometimes check a reviews round-up on websites, though my focus for reviews is always theatre, as somehow I seem more able to make up my mind about plays/shows, ie without needing a digest. I do however remember, as a 6th-former, poring over a lot of publications in our school library (back in the days when school libraries could afford subscriptions); there were at least 2 monthly magazines for films. I always suspected that it was teachers who had chosen these magazines for their own benefit & as far as I knew, I was the only pupil who ever read them. One I think was Sight & Sound. |
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Post by mkb on Nov 24, 2023 11:00:13 GMT
.. as far as I knew, I was the only pupil who ever read them. One I think was Sight & Sound. Pre-internet, monthly magazines were so important. For films, I grew up buying: Film Review - I think this started life as the in-house magazine for ABC Cinemas Films Illustrated Films and Filming Monthly Film Bulletin (that later merged into Sight and Sound) - This did nothing but list EVERY movie released in the UK that month with full credits, a full synopsis of the whole film and one review - it was the imdb of its day. At uni, every Saturday morning, I would trundle off to the city library as that was when they received their copy of the trade newspaper Screen International. I loved to pour over the box office takings for each screen in every major UK city. All very anal. LOL. |
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Post by crowblack on Nov 24, 2023 12:06:39 GMT
Just caught up on Censor (2021) on All4 (with one day left to view!) - interesting, atmospheric psychological horror set against the background of the video nasty era in the 80s. I had to close my eyes during the grisly clips in the opening sequences. It's a feature debut by a female director, Prano Bailey-Bond, lots of familiar brit faces popping up, strong central performance from The Virtues and Calm With Horses' Niamh Algar, lovely Gregory Crewdson style lighting. Downside is the All4 ad breaks breaking the atmosphere but hey, it's free.
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