[Movie] Movies/Shows you have seen recently?

Okay, I'm going to go right ahead and admit to watching Sucker Punch the other night. This is one of THE stupidest films I have ever seen, not that I expected it to be anything else from the trailer. It's just ridiculous and pretty and full of explosions; the kind of thing you can happily pick (massive) holes in and laugh at, usually whenever anyone opens their mouth. It's just about over the top enough to get away with having a shitty and occasionally jumpy script. It's got an okay soundtrack as well, although some of the covers set my teeth on edge just a little. We raged, but it was fun rage.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Sucker Punch:

We were in absolute stitches at the ending, because of how ridiculously awful it was - especially that little speech. I mean, was the writer genuinely trying to be profound? Either way, why in christ's name did no one stop him? I suppose by that time it was past the point of no return... I would have been miffed to have spent money on it too.

I also neglected to mention that I've watched the entirety of Armando Iannucci's The Thick of It recently (hence ava/sig). It's a fantastically scripted, brilliantly acted, spot-on political satire and I love this show to pieces. It's vicious, brutal and cruel and very funny. Naturally the star of the show is Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker, but I can't think of a single actor/character in this who doesn't perform well. The series eventually spawned In The Loop so chances are if you enjoyed the film, you'll enjoy the series.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Oh mate, philistines! I would have been well chuffed if I was there. That OJ Simpson bit was so class haha. I tell you, over the past few years Iannucci (and Chris Morris <3) have totally revolutionised comedy for me.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Chaining David Suchet's Poirot for all the priceless dialogue and Suchet's clenched buttocks, and watched La Haine the other night (only a year or so after buying it) - absolutely loved it, it's a beautiful piece of cinema, shamed that I hadn't seen it before.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Aaah, I've seen Rubber in CEX and was thinking of buying it for how ridiculous it sounded. Going to have to check it out~

I was speaking idiomatically.

Watched Bad Taste the other night. I forgot just how much fun B movies can be. Derek's car is... majestic.

How ya doing, buddy?

I forgot to mention that we got round to watching Submarine the other night. A heavy visual nod to Wes Anderson in places, and it's full of quirkiness too. I think Ayoade has made a fantastic début. I definitely want to read the book, for the unused parts and just to understand the transition made.

FELIPE NO

We somehow managed to miss all the bad reviews and ended up watching Skyline the other night. Occasional moment that was so stupid we laughed but mostly just a bunch of dickholes you don't care about being attacked by a massive War of the Worlds rip off. That's time I won't get back

We've also been on a war film kick of late.
Jarhead I'd seen but not really paid attention to first time round. I got more out of it this time though.
Green Zone annoyed me to be honest and I can't figure out why. I think because it felt like a Bourne film (for more reasons than the lead character - some of the same crew members wasn't it?) which seemed completely inappropriate for the subject matter even though that was questionable anyway. Couldn't hold my attention much either.
And finally The Hurt Locker. Definitely my favourite of those three. It reminds me of The Wrestler a bit in narrative terms. Very compelling and tense as fuck.

And last night we watched Source Code. The guy who lent it to us said it was very confusing, which I think is tantamount to calling Inception confusing in that it's not if you pay attention.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Watched the first episode of Last Resort this weekend. Is it... is it meant to be tongue in cheek? I laughed quite a lot anyway.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've been meaning to watch the Redux version for a long while, but never got round to it so I'm afraid I couldn't help you there. Can't see the harm in it though if you enjoyed the original - if you do let us know how it was!

Okay, so I've seen The Hobbit twice now - both in the HFR 3D since both groups of people I went with had already seen it in 2D and wanted to compare. As for the HFR, it was weird at first, I wasn't sure at all I liked it at all. But about halfway through it really came together and it was especially good during parts with CGI. I wouldn't have chosen to see it in that format twice if it was up to me though. As for the content:

Spoiler:

I liked how they started with the back story to Erebor and the loss of the dwarven kingdom. Interested to see how the Arkenstone was given a lot more significance straight off the bat. The scenes with Bilbo and Frodo felt forced, wasn't keen. Also giving The Necromancer a lot more limelight than he was party to in the book - if I remember correctly he was just described as a dark force in Mirkwood in The Hobbit? I know he's a foreshadow of Sauron, but... I thought Radagast was a bit over the top (and again, a plug for time?). Thorin was much more bitter in this too but I think that came off well. I wouldn't have minded Galadriel's inclusion so much if I didn't know it was supposed to be throwing the female audience a bone or some shit like that. I wasn't paying attention to the gender of the characters involved at all until she showed up. The scene with Gollum was very good. Martin Freeman did himself well as Bilbo.

Overall, I thought it was pretty decent.

I finally got round to seeing Moonrise Kingdom since my boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas. It was lovely. I thought it suffered a little from being so short, it was too concise for the background characters to really get a proper footing. But the kids playing the lead roles were fantastic and I was quite chuffed with Edward Norton and Bruce Willis in it. The soundtrack was pretty good but not the best of all his works. It was quite funny too.

A friend of mine showed me The Raid. We watched the dubbed version and it just made everything hilarious. I'd like to see the subbed version just to see how it changes the mood of the whole thing. Great, brutal action flick. That's all it needs to be.

A brief review of maybe the past year's uni TV obsession: Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.

SG1's first 7 or 8 seasons were absolutely class. I wish I'd got into this earlier, it's been so long since I've loved a show like this. The last few seasons got a bit ridiculous, mainly Michael Shanks kicking up a fuss and becoming a bit of a Mary Sue, also the loss of a few key and beloved characters. But it's self-aware and playful with a host of lovable (and love-to-hate) people.

I thought it would take me a while to get into Atlantis because I'd become so attached to SG1 but really, it's a great show. We've not finished this yet, up to season 3 so far. Much love for McKay.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Is that the American version of Shameless? I saw Ence talking about it the other day. I've only seen the British one and thought that was really good, US version sounds interesting.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

My review of Dredd.

Spoiler:

Also I said about The Raid earlier on - came out in 2011 and it's almost exactly the same plot as Dredd but with martial arts.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Speaking of Satoshi Kon I finally got round to watching Paranoia Agent. I don't have a whole lot to say about this other than I really enjoyed it. I'd heard it was meant to be a mindfuck in so far as Perfect Blue was, but I thought it was quite straightforward if approached from the right angle - lots of crazy stuff going on to represent some more grounded ideas. I love this kind of mad brand of storytelling.

Just got back from watching A Good Day to Die Hard and it was the stupidest fucking thing I have ever seen, such a badly written script/plot, such atrocious science, so damned awkward in places. Not that I expected any different knowing the general storyline etc going in. I was in a state of disbelief for most of the film (mainly how much we spent to see it, especially since we saw it in the IMAX). At least there were some fun explosiony/shooty bits, and to be fair when a film has that many flaws it leaves plenty of satisfying things to pick on.

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I kind of felt like sometimes they knew what they were filming/writing was ridiculous, but mostly not. Expendables franchise definitely knows what it's about and I imagine that makes it a better experience.

some choice bits of plot:

"This room has been pooling radiation for years!"

"We can get rid of the radiation by powerblasting it with gas!"

The most atrocious ending chat between McClane and jnr. Also when he's trying to say he loves Jack it came off as being massively awkward for more reasons than just because he's a bro and bro's don't say sissy shit ie horrid writing/acting.

Incredibly obviously bad helicopter jargon

Meltdowns can be caused by stealing uranium

Why the fuck is there a rainwater catchment INSIDE A BUILDING

Creepy incestuous father daughter vibe

Yuri doing a 180 because reasons (that have no relation to anything we have previously seen and is explained in a few words)

Grrarrrrgrrrrrri'monvacationgrarrrrr

I mean seriously, I will sit there and accept they can find a car full of guns and ammo etc because that felt like they knew exactly what the audience expected and didn't even really try and bullshit us with much effort, but the above?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

In keeping with my ability to be insanely behind the times I've just started watching Community (when I say just started I mean we spent the weekend getting through the first 2 seasons and part way into the third) and today just watched the first episode of Firefly. UMF <3

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Yeah, I wasn't massively bowled over by the first season either (paintball though~), seems to be the way of it.

We started properly watching Curb Your Enthusiasm before the easter break. Oh man I thought I dealt with cringe just fine until this show. Literally cannot watch it in places, but it hurts so good somehow.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was okay. I wasn't amazed by it. Might be skewed by the fact that David Hewlett is in it (yay!) but for a total screen time of about 2 minutes and as a dick (aww).

Last night saw Sightseers. I loved it. Hadn't a clue about the storyline, just knew Edgar Wright was involved and that was more than enough info, I'm glad I went in blind. So funny. I saw a review that said it was good but didn't outshine the director's previous film Kill List, which I now absolutely have to watch.

Also got introduced to This Morning with Richard not Judy and I now love Stewart Lee even more (only having seen Carpet Remnant World and Comedy Vehicle before this, and his articles in the Guardian recently have been fantastic). Only saw the first episode of each series but I was laughing pretty much constantly.

We also watched It's Kevin, which I probably cringed at more than Curb - that's saying something. There were one or two promising sketches but I felt like most of it fell flat on its face, which is sad because Kevin Eldon is beaut.

Saw Derek before the easter break as well. It's pretty good, kind of sweet, some laugh out loud moments (the crabs cracked me up), certainly tugs at your heartstrings. But there's something about it that doesn't sit right with me and I don't know what it is. I think maybe it feels a bit too simplistic, too obvious. There are clear good guys and bad guys and you can see exactly what's coming. The sad piano refrain was a bit ott in places as well. I don't know.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Season 3 episode 8

also interspersed with Parks and Rec which has made me realise I'm basically dating a young British Ron Swanson

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Got round to watching Arrested Development and now I understand Helloween's comments. Enjoyed it a lot.

Also started watching Lie To Me and The Mentalist. Not really that enamoured with the latter. It's average drama, straightforward and kind of flat characters, unconvincing suspects, don't much care for it. Lie to Me's a bit better and I find it more engaging but I don't care much if I miss an episode or two (except I miss the effect it has on my flatmates, who lapse into fits of cockney whenever Cal loses it). Just become sort of saturated with the stock crime-solving dramas I suppose.

Speaking of which we watched the first couple of episodes of Hannibal. It's certainly creepy and surreal, I enjoy the way they play around with the visuals. But I don't know how to feel about it. None of the characters are particularly likeable to me so far, and it's not the most comfortable thing to watch either. I suppose the main driving point is how long it'll take them to figure out Hannibal.

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I feel I understand Hannibal a bit better after reading this haiku:

hannibal stop that

hannibal leave will alone

fuck you hannibal


Oh yes and Twin Peaks, that's happening. We got the boxset for Christmas, just been wrapping up a bunch of other shows first.

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Eraserhead. My brain feels both tremendously full and empty at the same time.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

BBC3 are currently broadcasting a documentary called Don't Call Me Crazy. It follows the inpatient lives of teenagers in an adolescent psychiatric unit in Manchester. As a programme it's pretty great. Insights into inpatient life and the struggles of different mental illnesses are complimented by interviews with staff and families, which gives a well-rounded overall picture and it even manages to show the darker aspects of psych unit life without spiralling into sensationalism. There have only been two episodes so far, covering patients with anorexia, depression, OCD and suspected psychosis. It is very true to form, and I'd recommend it. I think it's great to see an effort to openly talk about mental health in such a way, so non-sufferers can gain empathy and start seeing the people behind the diagnoses.

I also watched Life of Pi last night. Firstly, I wish I'd seen it in the cinema because of how visually stunning it's meant to be. Secondly, fucking hell Rafe Spall. He had a great accent and all but there were a few little mannerisms of his from Pete vs. Life I kept picking up on that kept on ruining the illusion.

As for actual content:

I'd not read the book, and having seen trailers thought it was just some hedonistically pretty little story about a kid on a boat with a tiger, who presumably ended up best buddies on a cut and paste adventure. So yeah, I did not see that coming. I don't know how well it would hold up now the cat's out of the bag, so to speak...

I was speaking idiomatically.

Saw The World's End this week. Overall, nothing was ever going to top Shaun of the Dead, if anything I'd say it was on par with Hot Fuzz. Worth a watch, but fizzles towards the end. Much darker feel to it in places. My judgement is a bit clouded because I felt quite a personal resonance with parts of it, and I'd need to watch it again to get a proper sense of it.

Been watching Luther as well, it's excellent. Of all the cop dramas we've watched lately, I've enjoyed this one the most (but then Idris Elba stars so not surprising). Gets a little cliché in places but it doesn't ruin it. Great soundtrack as well.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Orange Wednesdays means I can actually afford the cinema

Pacific Rim - incongruent, inexplicable back and forth, confusingly insincere bonding and plot holes aside, watching giant mechs smashing the shit out of bloody great big monsters is entertaining. Didn't really expect much more tbh.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - I am so, so happy. What with it being a while since Partridge appeared on any sort of screen and the number of disappointing revivals popping up of late I was worried Alpha Papa would turn out the same. But it's great and true to form, such a relief!

The Returned - Super spooky French show about dead people coming back to life without knowing they have died. Really interesting to watch this stuff unfold and intertwine, some unexpected repercussions. We're 7 or 8 episodes in.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by nabhan

I can't wait to see this. I watched Spaced earlier this summer on Netflix and it was one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. It seems dated on the surface, but the cast works perfectly together and it's so...positive. Throw in classic moments like the performance art show, the paintball game, invisible guns and the rave, and it's up there among my favorite shows now.

<3<3<3<3<3<3

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

*bracing for impact*

The Desolation of Smaug:

This film was entertaining to watch for the most part. It doesn't deserve to be called "The Hobbit" though. A review I read described it as "fan fiction" and I definitely agree. Absolutely no need for Legolas/Tauriel, or Kili/Tauriel storyline, what a joke. Bard's character alteration was less offensive but pretty much a done to death idea. The discovery of Sauron was trippy as balls and so ridiculously over the top I was almost laughing.

I enjoyed Smaug very much (though the less said about the ensuing scenes with the dwarves the better, what the hell was that), and the parts that actually featured Bilbo were also good. Thranduil, too. I was ambivalent on the inclusion of Beorn even if there was very little need.

I will go to the last one because I'm a sucker and even if it's not quite right it's still fairly enjoyable to watch film adaptations of books you love. But I am painfully aware that these films are not doing the book justice.

Gravity:

I really think I'm missing something, I must be. Everyone loves this film, every reputable source singing its praises. I found it average at best. Visually it's pretty, very pretty, but the actual story? Nah.

Jam it back in, in the dark.