What was the last film you watched?

Just watched Hell or High Water with Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges. It’s a neo-Western crime/heist film. Two brothers plan a series of heists on branches of a Texan bank to whom they owe money, in order to keep their dead mother’s ranch.

Thought it was really good, also liked that it was around 100 minutes long, getting fed up with so many films being about two and a half hours long these days. There’s something to be said for films that tell a compelling and complete story within a shorter running time, there’s an art to that. Too many films are indulgent in terms of their running times these days.

Went off on a bit of a tangent there, but I’d really recommend the film to anyone.

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Now a tv series starring Ryan Philippe.Omar Epps(House) worth watching if you have nothing else to watch.

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Good short films are a necessity but I’m more than glad to see certain films 150-180 minutes long. I think it boils down to pace. Different types of films suit different lengths. Two examples off the top of my head, Snatch, it probably wouldn’t be as slick, quirky and memorable a comedy-crime flick if it were drawn out an extra hour. Shawshank wouldn’t be as emotionally impactful as it needs to be if it were shorter. There are definitely films that need that extra 50-80 minutes to tell a profound story. Only foreign films seem to add a piss break in the middle though :joy:

Jack Reacher Never Go Back 2016 that was quite good.

Yeah I agree with you there. I don’t have a problem with long films per se, if a film justifies a lengthy running time I have no problem at all. Once Upon a Time in America is an absolute masterpiece and I had no problem with its 3 hour and 49 minute running time. It’s that lots of blockbusters like Batman v Superman, X Men, Avengers etc are seemingly automatically two and a half hours or longer, and unlike films like Shawshank it’s just not necessary and it puts me off watching them.

Anyone see Arrival? Had some high hopes for it because Denis Villaneuve looked a pretty legitimate director and everyone, including the girl I am (was, I think) dating told me I had to see it and I’d love it.

Hated it. Don’t think I’ll ever let myself be convinced to watch a Hollywood movie again no matter how good the reviews are. I literally cracked up in the middle of the movie theatre with those last lines, so cringe.

What pisses me off is that all the magazines that I tend to trust for film liked it, and this weekend I watched Prisoners by Villeneuve and rather liked it.

Hacksaw Ridge. Great story of a consientious objector who serves as a medic in the 2nd world war.
Starts off a bit tame but grows into a very good film. Some grusome warfare and horrific scenrs.
Feel some real horror at times. Stories unfold on the battle scene that are given credence with interviews at the end of actuall footage of people involved. 9 out of 10

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u ok hun?

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Give Arrival another viewing; I think it is true Vllaneuve, but I do admit that it did feel like a stretched out short story at times.

I don’t think you should be upset that your views didn’t match up with a certain reviewer(s) seeing as it is, in it’s most basic form, a piece of art, most of which is, in someway, subjective.

I just recently saw Moonlight and it was pretty spectacular, so much so it gets a 5/5; a true masterpiece that will be watched for generations.

How do you not know?!

yeh boo, just watching the film was one of those moments where afterwards I thought, well, 5 yrs younger than me, is a fan of superhero movies, tells me I’d love this film I hate, etc., probably time to recognise the facts here instead of bothering/trying to self-deceive cause she’s got a pretty face and I’m a little light on options atm. :kissing_heart:

I didn’t feel like it was a stretched out story (if anything with all the things the film was trying to achieve it probably needed to be like 5 hrs long), it just felt so Hollywood to me, lots of bullshit sentimentality that treats its audience like a dumb cunt and tries to explain the whole world in 2 hours…basic hallmarks of Hollywood. If it just treated the arrival moment and was a bit more subtle/ambiguous it might’ve been good, the first 30 minutes were pretty promising I felt aside from the bs emotional manipulation with the dying daughter.

Lots about art is objective but outright cringe and obvious Hollywoodisms aren’t really.

But yeah, I enjoyed Prisoners and particularly liked Enemy. Do want to see Moonlight too.

Can’t tell if you are serious or not, but if you breakup with someone because she recommended a film you didn’t like, then you are a fucking hero.

No fucks given. I applaud such little shits given. Takes me forever and a day to end things with people.

Me too Oli ol pal, more reason to make the cut when you’re still at that point where it’s rather straightforward.

Fixed that for you

:stuck_out_tongue:

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I mean, I guess that’s what you get from a film that is marketed like Iron Man 5. I think the film would’ve been better suited to a different director though; be it a Nolan or, even, god help me, Bay.

I guess the better films I’ve seen prior to Moonlight were, Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake, and Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson - all of which were individual, stylised, and created with trust in the script, the production team and of course the actors.

Ha, I needed that extra part as many believe art in its entirety isn’t subjective; meaning that either art is good or it is bad. I disagree, but still wanted it to be balanced.

lazy day yesterday so watched Traders…

Agreed.

Yeah, I want to see all of those. Elle I still haven’t seen because it seemed such a similar thing to Haneke’s The Pianist that it almost felt like I’d be wasting my time but it’s gotten enough recognition from all sides that I will definitely see it.

Not so much that it didn’t match up with certain reviewers but with all of them that I respect/generally feel their opinion is worthwhile, and on top of it, all of my friends (except those who I went to see it with who also felt it was pretty shit).

Did you like it?

For someone so opinionated about Arsenal, I’m surprised you care.

I suggest you sign up to Letterboxd; great platform for peer review and great films you may not have heard of; and not necessarily just a focus on obscure Tarkovsky films.

Definitely care, watching a particular film is a commitment of time that could be otherwise placed upon a choice of a million other films. I want to have some insurance that what I watch I will enjoy/benefit from in some way, and the best way to do that is listen to people of like-mind and read reviewers whose opinion over time I have come to see tends to match up with mine/is trustworthy.

Yeah sure, but equally, a film that scores say 69 or 71 on Metacritic could easily be a 90 for you.

I think discovery is so gratifying; i/e seeing a film without any prior knowledge about its context or who likes it.

I prefer to use metacritic, as I don’t rely on publications as such, but rather individual reviewers; Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune is always on par with my taste.

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