What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I loved Avengers: Endgame when I saw it at the cinema and I'm looking forward to watching it again at home. I thought it finished off the Thanos storyline in a way which was not only satisfactory, but exciting and emotional. It was always going to be tough to handle that many superheroes and character arcs developed in MCU films in a coherent way, but my expectations were surpassed.

The Captain Marvel film is completely different as it's basically a buddy movie between her and (a much younger) Nick Fury with lots of funny lines and an awesome 1990s soundtrack.

At some stage during this year i aim to watch the whole lot again. I did it two or three years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Obviously there were less films back then though and it's the films released in the time since that have felt soul less and underwhelming.

Noted in what you say regarding Captain Marvel.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

November (2017)

Okay, when during the first three minutes a cow is carried away by a bizarre helicopter made up of a cow skull and farm implements, you know you are in for two hours of Gothic, eerie 19th century, Estonian folk horror.

Superb WTF? stuff.

It's quite something, isn't it?! I loved the strange atmosphere, the way that no answers were offered and you are expected to buy into the world in which the film takes place and accept the existence of kratts, and why they are so important.

I remember being both amused and unsettled, and that doesn't often happen in the same film.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

At some stage during this year i aim to watch the whole lot again. I did it two or three years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Obviously there were less films back then though and it's the films released in the time since that have felt soul less and underwhelming.

That's something that I want to do, taking a week or two and go all the way through the MCU in chronological order from Captain America: The First Avenger to Avengers: Endgame, perhaps taking in some of the TV shows as well.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

That's something that I want to do, taking a week or two and go all the way through the MCU in chronological order from Captain America: The First Avenger to Avengers: Endgame, perhaps taking in some of the TV shows as well.

I'd also like to do a complete Buffy and Angel this year (Which you did last year didn't you?) and also a complete re-run of Smallville seeing as i got the final series for Christmas.

That doesn't take into account the tonnes of tv i own which i haven't watched yet.

I aim to have a bigger library than Netflix. Might have that already to be honest.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Straight Outta Compton

This is the second time I've seen F. Gary Gray's biopic about N.W.A, the Los Angeles hip-hop outfit which became a critical part in making rap music and accepted art form and part of the mainstream music scene.

The casting is spot on, making the younger versions of Eazy E, Dr Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella completely plausible and even likeable young men. I could watch Paul Giamatti in just about anything as he is one of the best character actors alive, and his performance as Jerry Heller, N.W.A's first manager, oozes compassion and experience.

The film doesn't shy away from the violence and drug use which was so prevalent in the lives of men like the founding members of N.W.A – indeed it makes the lyrics, attitudes and behaviour more understandable – so is an important part of documenting the rise of West Coast rap artists.

Perhaps the most impressive parts of the film are the live performances, particularly the Detroit concert when they disobeyed the police's order not to play '**** tha Police'.

It would be easy for a biopic like this to become bogged down in familiar clichés and tropes, so it's to F. Gary Gray's credit that it feels fresh, provocative, and exciting all the way through to the moving final segment focusing on Easy E's death and Dr Dre's rise to superstardom.

The film is beautifully shot by acclaimed cinematographer Matthew Libatique, has a superb score by Joseph Trapanese, and the use of original music is smartly blended into the performances by the actors, giving the movie an authenticity and sense of familiarity which is invaluable. I highly recommend it to everyone, regardless of your feelings about hip-hop/rap music.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Drive Angry

When a dead criminal (Nicolas Cage) learns his granddaughter is about to be sacrificed by a cult, he breaks out of hell and the devil sends someone (William Fichtner) after him.

Nicholas Cage has been in some great films during his long career, most notably Leaving Las Vegas for which he won multiple awards for his performance. He's also been in some utter dross such as Ghost Rider, which was (in my opinion) justifiably panned by critics and earned Cage a Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor. He is clearly an actor capable of great performances who can recognise a brilliant script and help make a fine film, or do the complete opposite. Sadly, this is one of his weaker efforts.

One thing an action film should never be is dull and sadly Drive Angry is boring. It seems to be made by someone who finds muscle cars exciting and deserving of pride of place in a major feature film. Because of its flimsy high concept storyline, this needed a blend of snappy dialogue, memorable music, and exciting action set pieces but failed on all fronts. I didn't really care about any of the main characters so my attention and began to drift long before the halfway point; there was nothing in the third act to make it suddenly compelling so it was a minor miracle I watched until the end credits.

I think a different director would have made this obviously self-referential and shot with a Grindhouse aesthetic, perhaps throwing in some gratuitous sex and nudity for the hell of it. Patrick Lussier isn't one of those filmmakers. Nor is he a director like Michael Bay who would throw in some explosions in absence of narrative coherency.

Nicolas Cage can be a great actor, I've often been impressed by William Fichtner but he was also wasted here. This is a film to watch if you are morbidly curious, have nothing else to watch, and want something on in the background while you are ironing. Otherwise, give it a miss.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Steve Jobs

I didn’t know much about the Apple Corporation and its history prior to watching this film, and I didn’t know much more when it finished. The same can’t be said about the subject of this film, a man credited with revolutionising the mobile telephone.

When you have an actor as good as Michael Fassbender as the lead, it makes sense to give him as much screen time as possible, and Fassbender probably appears in every frame of the film, or at least every scene. His interactions with Steve Wozniak (a very impressive Seth Rogen) and assistant Joanna Hoffman (the always excellent Kate Winslet) probably take the most time, but the ones which have the most emotional resonance are with his daughter, Lisa, played by three actresses as she grows up from age 5 to 19.

The setting of the film, at three of his famous launches, allows you to see into his interactions with the most significant people in his life, how he prepares for the public, what product he is about to sell to the world and the state of the business. This is probably the most aesthetically low-key film Danny Boyle has made, but the visuals suit the subject and the technology for which he was famous. It isn’t a typical biopic, it’s a film which tries to get to the private Steve Jobs, the man with poor interpersonal skills, a difficult childhood, and a strange way of interacting with his daughter.

When I said I didn’t learn much about Apple computers or phones, it’s not a problem because it’s not something which interests me. What I wanted was an engaging and somewhat informative character study of the main subject; the film delivered exactly that and that’s why I will quite happily watch it again.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Give me Drive Angry over Avengers Endgame any day. Sorry.

It ain't three hours long for a start.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Give me Drive Angry over Avengers Endgame any day. Sorry.

It ain't three hours long for a start.

Ha! To each their own…

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I'd also like to do a complete Buffy and Angel this year (Which you did last year didn't you?) and also a complete re-run of Smallville seeing as i got the final series for Christmas.

That doesn't take into account the tonnes of tv i own which i haven't watched yet.

I aim to have a bigger library than Netflix. Might have that already to be honest.

Yes, I did watch Buffy and Angel last year in broadcast order, switching between one and the other to ensure the crossover episode had the most coherence and impact. It's undoubtedly the best way to watch the Buffyverse.