What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by nicholasrope

I meant why wasn't it a 15, the original was a 15, I believe that was mainly for swearing and the knife scenes like the sequel.

Ah right. My misunderstanding.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

This weekend, I went to the cinema for the first time in several years and watched three films:

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse
Because it had been a while since I watched it and I didn't want to get a bit lost when watching the sequel, I watched Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse.

I thought it was a great film when I first saw it and this second viewing has confirmed my opinion. It's clever, innovative, and exciting, possibly the best Spider-Man film yet.

The sequel doesn't disappoint as it is equally audacious, funny, and animated with astonishing flair and invention. Because of the number of scenes with captions or split screen (sometimes split three ways), I look forward to watching it again, possibly at the cinema before it disappears.

Elemental
This latest Pixar film follows a couple of fire elements, Bernie and Cinder Lumen, as they move to Element City and open a shop. Struggling with a sluggish business and hostility from the other elements, they raise their daughter, Ember, hoping she will grow up and learn to control her temper so she can take over the shop when they retire.

Ember develops an unlikely friendship – and a burgeoning relationship – with a water element called Wade, and the two spend a lot of time together around the city leading more about the other elements and their place within it.

This isn't a top tier Pixar, and I wasn't entirely convinced by Ember and Wade's relationship, though the storyline about the Lumen family, and the relationship between Ember and Bernie was very authentic and quite moving.

Unusually for a Pixar film (or any animated film from a major studio), there aren't any big-name actors in the voice cast, with the most well-known actors being Wendi McLendon-Covey and Catherine O'Hara. Among the crew, I knew director Peter Sohn (director of The Good Dinosaur) and executive producer Pete Docter (director of Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out, and Soul).

Visually and narratively, there are some similarities with Inside Out, though this pales in comparison with that Oscar-winning film, one of the best of 2015. It's probably on a par with The Good Dinosaur and perhaps Cars.

Asteroid City
This isn't going to win Wes Anderson any new fans because it's far from his most accessible film, though it is a brilliant one.

The events take place in the titular town, a small town in the middle of the desert, famous for its meteorite (oddly, not an asteroid) and for hosting an award ceremony for young scientists, including astronomers and someone who's invented an actual death ray!

Actually, that's not quite accurate as the events in Asteroid City are part of the latest work by a bored playwright and presented by an on-screen narrator., switching the story to the 1950s and the titular location.

Like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson uses aspect ratio as a timestamp: the framing story is in monochrome 1.37:1, with the 'performance" in pastel colored 2.39:1 widescreen. As usual, his mise-en-scène and attention to detail are flawless and there were occasions when I knew I missed some minor details which I'll have to catch when I buy it to watch at home.

Also, typically for a recent Wes Anderson film, there is an all-star cast of which most directors could only dream: Tom thanks, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Hope Davis, Liev Schreiber, Matt Dillon, Adrian Brody, Tilda Swinton, Margot Robbie, Willem Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum, many of them regular collaborators, whose appearances come as no surprise.

Like the visuals, the script is detailed, brilliant, and with some names and phrases I am looking forward to hearing again. The same eagerness for repetition applies to the soundtrack – I loved Alexandre Desplat's score and there was a clever blend of period and contemporary music. Jarvis Cocker's new song, You Can't Wake up If You Don't Fall Asleep played over the end credits and was a wonderful way to finish the film and I've listened to it several times since.

If you are a fan of Wes Anderson's films, then this is highly recommended. If you aren't keen on his aesthetic and quirky humour, then I'd approach it with caution.

[nosferatu42]

I struggle with Wes Anderson films, i respect that he has his own voice and way of doing stuff, but kinda want to rip up all the perfect pictures and say where's the emotion, to me he's like Peter Greenaway without the darkness and decay.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

I struggle with Wes Anderson films, i respect that he has his own voice and way of doing stuff, but kinda want to rip up all the perfect pictures and say where's the emotion, to me he's like Peter Greenaway without the darkness and decay.

There is a degree of emotion in Asteroid City as Jason Schwartzman plays a father of four whose wife died three weeks prior to the trip to the desert.

His decision to take the ashes in Tupperware is a form of the grieving process, just as his reluctance to let his daughters bury the tub in the sand shows he has a particular way of dealing with loss.

As I said before, if you aren't a Wes Anderson fan, this isn't going to appeal to you, but it is a film with some brilliant dialogue, excellent cinematography, and is the work of a unique talent.

[MrBarlow]

Redcon-1. 2018.

After a zombie outbreak in England, a elite special ops squad is sent to the quarantine zone, find a doctor and bring him out.

I was recommended this film by a friend who thinks it's one of the best zombie films made. We got a different band of soldiers English and American sent in and as soon they land they are ambushed. Then again ambushed, these soldiers have a unlimited amount of ammo but they do bring their own weapons to the fight. Then we realise they aren't fighting off zombies but a skull gang has taken control of part of the city and some freedom fighters who want to help find a cure. Half way through we do get a small predictable twist and a soldier who is hell bent on saving a life but willing to take a life. The make up effects are decent for the zombies and biting the skin away but the acting is certainly not the best.

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[MrBarlow]

Locked Up. 2017.

An American student living in Asia is bullied and turns on her bullies that results in her being sent to a reform school that is actually a youth prison and has to fight in order to survive.

Something of a new take on the women in prison genre that came out in the 70s this time seems like older teens...I'm hoping the actresses were over 21 if not then I will need to go to confession. We have the usual corrupt warden that exploits everyone for her own gain with one or two personal favourite inmates, newbie having to learn the ropes and avoid the local lesbian prisoner. Quite a bit of nudity with a bit of girl on girl action and plenty of bad acting. The actresses did try but guess you go with what your given.

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[iank]

Sounds fun.

[MrBarlow]

lost Continent. 1951.

A search for a downed atomic rocket, a small crew crash land on a mysterious island with dinosaurs.

Cesar Romero, Chick Chandler, and Sid Melton are Air Force men who take our scientists to look for the rocket and get the data from it, this goes from Black and White to green tint screen with either animation or stop motion for the dinosaurs which does not look the best. The actors do try their best even though Hugh Beaumont breaks character and laugh slightly that was kept in. May not be the best but certainly a bit of good entertainment.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Devil's Woods (2015)

A group of four friends trying to repair their strained relationships decide to spend the weekend camping at a music festival. En route they stop off at a small town in the middle of rural Ireland and then find a nearby spot in the woods in which to camp prior to moving on to the festival.

In a way there's nothing new to see in this ultra low budget Irish horror, however i really enjoyed it once again. Director Anthony White basically seems to have a camera and a cast of four for much of this film yet it works really well. It helps that the friends all come over as mainly likable and the dialogue totally natural and at times really funny whilst never feeling forced or scripted, helped by a pacing that allows the characters to build and not seem so throw away as is the case with many of these films.

There's an air of unease which develops as the films slender 70 minutes gather pace. Idle chatter which could have been awful actually feels invigorating thanks to White's innovative camera work and an ambient soundtrack from a band called Stillroom which is weird and sinister.

From the off there are hints at what is to come with Occult themes and symbolism throughout and even a few homages to films like The Wicker Man and The Blair Witch Project.

Whilst films like this aren't for all as there are several stretches where not a lot really happens, the last ten minutes are genuinely creepy and i thought fairly edge of the seat stuff.

[MrBarlow]

Guns Akimbo. 2019.

A computer game developer, bullied by his boss and still has feelings for his ex, trolls a site called Skizm, a underground gun battle tournament. When the makers home invade him, they bolt two hand guns to his hands and give him 24 hours to kill he reigning champion Nix.

Daniel Radcliffe plays the wimpish guy who manages to find his inner gladiator fighting skills and can't perform the simplistic tasks of getting dressed or answering a call of nature. As much as this is action packed with plenty of bullets flying about and a man finally standing up to his boss, this does have some good dark humour mixed in. The film is definitely OTT and done in a way it still entertaining and never gets dull or boring.

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