Movie What's the last movie you saw? (7)

[VainGlorious]

Borderlands (2024) (Prime Video)

I'm no gamer, so I can only judge this based on the movie. I thought the action sequences were pretty good, and the characters were well-acted. But they telegraphed too easily and too early that Lilith was the "special one" and not that girl (which is poor writing), and that took all the fun out of the film. 5/10 (Average)

Tend to agree here. I actually fell asleep for about 15 minutes so I mustn’t have been that enthusiastic or entertained.

I’d be interested to hear the thoughts of people who’d actually played the game (I haven’t, not a gamer).

 

[Chief]

I went on a trip to Sweden and I have spent most of my time in Stockholm, there was none of that weird sort of stuff back then.

That you remember...

 

[00Stinger]

watched the original Star Wars with the kids on the weekend

Had not watched it in 10-15+ years. Holds up pretty well tbh

 

[JackOutback]

The Mist... had heard it has one of the all-time endings and yet also managed to avoid spoilers about said ending. It delicately straddles the line between schlocky B-grade horror and bigger themes about how humans cope under pressure, whether they will turn on each other in fear, religious fundamentalism etc. Following a storm, a mysterious mist descends on a town that seems to take anyone that wanders into it. The special effects are pretty ropey, the acting is actually pretty good, perhaps drags on a little. But as it nears the end, it does start to get pretty grim and the dread builds up before the end kicks you in the guts. Not sure the end has anything more to say other screw with you but it's effective. 7/10

 

[Jarman3]

Ravenous

Dug this one out of my Netflix list after having it sitting there for years. Zombie movie from Canada (french language). Not really anything out of the ordinary story-wise, just bunch of survivors trying to survive a zombie outbreak in a rural area of Quebec. Pretty well done, I'm not sure what the budget was but it doesn't seem like it was a lot, but that can work to the advantage of these sorts of movies, makes it feel a bit more grounded in reality rather than having a lot of slick CGI and over-wrought music etc. Instead this had a good, minimalist vibe to it - it was very quiet for the most part, and the limited budget mean they had to be judicious in their use of makeup effects to save the gore for when it is most important for the story.

Minus 1 point for running zombies, but other than that a pretty decent low-budget effort.

 

[raskolnikov]

Don't Move (Netflix)

A woman is injected by a serial killer and must try to escape before the injection makes her paralytic.

Nothing great but it kept my attention.

 

[sandeano]

Ravenous

Dug this one out of my Netflix list after having it sitting there for years. Zombie movie from Canada (french language). Not really anything out of the ordinary story-wise, just bunch of survivors trying to survive a zombie outbreak in a rural area of Quebec. Pretty well done, I'm not sure what the budget was but it doesn't seem like it was a lot, but that can work to the advantage of these sorts of movies, makes it feel a bit more grounded in reality rather than having a lot of slick CGI and over-wrought music etc. Instead this had a good, minimalist vibe to it - it was very quiet for the most part, and the limited budget mean they had to be judicious in their use of makeup effects to save the gore for when it is most important for the story.

Minus 1 point for running zombies, but other than that a pretty decent low-budget effort.

Is this the 1999 Guy Pearce film? (which I love)

 

[rumply]

Lee - bio drama about WW2 photographer Lee Miller. Kate Winslett great as usual. Nothing groundbreaking here but it's at times disturbing reminder of how ****ed up it all got. & I am fairly sure there was a not-so-subtle dig at Trump supporters, at least I hope it was. Worth a look.

 

[Jarman3]

Is this the 1999 Guy Pearce film? (which I love)

No, it's a 2017 zombie movie made in Quebec.

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

The Thing (1982)

Still holds up okay although a lot of the visual effect scenes do look very dated and quite comical, but you'd expect that from a movie 42 years old. Will give the 2011 film a watch either tonight or tomorrow i think.

 

[Jarman3]

The Thing (1982)

Still holds up okay although a lot of the visual effect scenes do look very dated and quite comical, but you'd expect that from a movie 42 years old. Will give the 2011 film a watch either tonight or tomorrow i think.

God, this is an absolute classic. Still love it to this day. The 2011 one was just ok. Not terrible, but also not memorable.

 

[JackOutback]

Gladiator... haven't seen this probably since it was released so thought I would watch it ahead of the sequel. Classic film with so many memorable lines, great action and a deep cast of top acting talent (particularly Crowe and Phoenix, who are phenomenal). A lot of movies run long and you can feel it but at more than two-and-a-half hours, there doesn't seem to be a wasted minute. Deserved the accolades it got at the time. 9.5/10

 

[GreyCrow]

Gladiator... haven't seen this probably since it was released so thought I would watch it ahead of the sequel. Classic film with so many memorable lines, great action and a deep cast of top acting talent (particularly Crowe and Phoenix, who are phenomenal). A lot of movies run long and you can feel it but at more than two-and-a-half hours, there doesn't seem to be a wasted minute. Deserved the accolades it got at the time. 9.5/10

Were you entertained!

 

[Sketi]

I agree and there's another striking example at the end.

Spoiler

When the surviving girl is driving back into town with Alcala, they stop at an intersection and there's a guy in a ute also stopped. You almost want to yell at the character to get out and run to the other car for help. But unspoken is the idea that she doesn't know if she will be safer with that man.

Great point and I had the same thought.

Spoiler: Woman of the Hour

Credit to the filmmaking to build such an atmosphere of distrust that you - as a viewer - second guess what would normally be seen as an opportunity for escape

Apparently Anna Kendrick has been citing Fincher in interviews. Obviously it's not quite on that level, but it's a great reference point and you can feel his influence coming through a little bit.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Lee (2023)

Lee Miller was an extraordinary woman. Model, socialite, proto-feminist, photographer, war correspondent. But this is a pretty bland depiction of her. Kate Winslet in the lead role is not particularly engaging. Her husband, artist Roland Penrose, as played by Alexander Skarsgård, comes across as rather dull fellow and there's zero chemistry between the two of them. It's visually unappealing and the darker moments of what she witnessed lack any shock value. The plot is ponderous. They've gone with the interview with flashbacks device but the twist at the end makes the structure retrospectively clumsy.

4/10

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Survival (2024)

We rented this on Prime as it was cheap. This French film (don't worry, they speak English for most of it) about an apocalyptic event involving the flipping of the magnet poles was very entertaining. It's about a family out somewhere in the ocean on a boat trip when it all happens, and suddenly, they wake to find the ocean is gone, and their boat is on the now exposed bottom. There is only one chance of surviving, but they have to face several nasty dangers to do so. Well acted, and a different take on these types of movies. The ocean receding that much is implausible, but it was still fun. 7/10 (Good)