What movie are you viewing at the moment?

[Devius]

Originally Posted by CARLTON BROWN

The Post 2017

A Steven Spielberg film with Tom Hanks, Meryl Street, plus a couple of unexpected lesser actors - Matthew Rhys who plays the lead role in The Americans TV show and Bob Odenkirk, who plays Saul, in Better Call Saul.

I had quite high hopes for this production, having spent a fair part of my life in publishing and the media, which gives me a fair idea how this movie's storyline would have been handled. It describes disclosure of the Pentagon Papers, with the film receiving loads of US awards.

The stolen Pentagon Papers outlined some of Washington's thinking behind the Vietnam War and secret planning. As I recall, their release was quite damaging to the administration.

Unfortunately, I found much of the film rather boring, lacking excitement and the details appeared to be hyped up to some degree. For me, it just didn't work and I can't see this appealing to an average audience as it didn't have the kind of flair and intensity sometimes seen in the excellent (IMHO) TV newspaper series Lou Grant from the late 70s.

Sorry to say, about 5/10 is the best I can come up with.

I watched "The Post" earlier this morning and I also thought of "Lou Grant" as well. For example, as good as Meryl Streep's portrayal of The Washington Post's publisher Katharine Graham was, Nancy Marchand (as publisher Margaret Jones Pynchon in "Lou Grant") was definitely superior.

SPOILER ALERT - LOOK AWAY NOW!!!



Also I was glad Spielberg ended "The Post" with the Watergate break-in. As far as I'm concerned All the President's Men is (for now) the definitive movie for that historical event.

[chris chunt]

The Reckoning .
A tough London business man travels north to avenge a relatives murder .
Shades of get Carter but made 2 years before and could I just say better ?

Out now eventually on blu ray and shown yesterday on freeview Chanel 81 .

Great movie .

[CARLTON BROWN]

Sorry to disagree, but for me Get Carter (the original) remains possibly the best Brit gangster movie ever made, followed by Long Good Friday and maybe Villain. Nevertheless, I have seen the Reckoning a couple of times and I seem to recall quite a racy sex scene at the beginning (for the time of release).

As a footnote to this film - On a misty late night, many years ago, while I was driving along Pond Street, Hampstead, I very nearly ran down the late Nicol Williamson as he lurched off the pavement carrying a bottle of plonk, totally oblivious to his surroundings. It was a seriously strange encounter to say the least!

[chris chunt]

Well that was the first time Ive seen the reckoning in wide-screen and in such clarity and it blew me away .

I remember it being shown in the early days of C4 in the 80s .
Where I'll have watched it on a flickering redifusion set no doubt .

Then I had a crappy bootleg on DVDr that I put a call out for on a film related website .

But that was the first ever time I've seen it so big that it properly fills a 40 odd inch screen and with such clarity .

Amazing .
It knocked me out .

[neo2008]

BlacKkKlansman






Director Spike Lee returns to the big screen with the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first African-American detective in the police department in Colorado Springs in 1972 , who sets out to infiltrate and expose the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

PRAISE: Straight out the gate Lee gives the audience a gut punch and then gets into the story that is composed of some things that are comical and very disturbing.
John David Washington as Detective Ron Stallworth and Adam Driver as Detective Flip Zimmerman are both very good.I loved how the film sets both men up to look inward at their own beliefs towards racism and religion as they get deeper into the KKK and what sinister plans they may be up to that could cause multiple deaths and destruction.

Not only the toughness of undercover work and all of it's dangers that come with it are on display here,the film also includes having feelings for someone that you have to lie to on a daily basis for their safety and your own safety.
The rest of the cast is quite believable and stellar which includes: Laura Harrier, Michael Buscemi, Robert John Burke, Topher Grace, Jasper Paakkonen, Ryan Eggold, and Alec Baldwin.
The film is book ended with sobering,sad ,timely dialogue and images,that i thought i had become numb to but it was beyond effective.No punches are pulled.

PROBLEMS: The film meanders here and there,some forced moments are coupled with some disjointed ones.

I couldnt help but think about a documentary i just watched on HBO titled Traffic Stop.I encourage everyone to watch it and please listen closely to what a Texas police officer's opinion is about black people and crime.Like this film his words are soul stirring and then some !!

Scale of 1-10 an 8½




The Meg





You know all of those low budget super shark movies that air on the SYFY channel? Well The Meg is a few levels above those.

PRAISE: So what raises The Meg's game ? Well you have Jason Statham followed by a game and fully on board cast which includes Page Kennedy, Robert Taylor, Jessica McNamee, Winston Chao, Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Li Bingbing, Olafur Darri Olafsson.
There's plenty of charm,silliness,fun moments ,sharp SFX and some good kills.


PROBLEMS: At times Statham truly becomes Aquaman in some action sequences,there are some cheesy and dull lines in the script.There are some truly throw your hands up in the air and roll your eyes moments.Ultra predictable turns.

In the end i still had a lot of fun with this action romp.Definitely got what i wanted from this flick

Scale of 1-10 a 7½

[Silicone Carne]

Patient Zero



IMDB
YouTube Trailer

After an unprecedented global pandemic turns the majority of humankind into violent "Infected," a man gifted with the ability to speak the Infected's new language leads the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.

Booh !
This kind of turd reminds you that even good actors have to pay their bills.
Matt Smith, super hottie Natalie Dormer and the great Stanley Tucci star in another infected/zombies you name 'em B movie with almost no originality except the fact that the monsters can speak and feel. But this thing apart, it's a pretty bad rip-off from George Romero's masterpiece Day Of The Dead.
Gosh! Those dialogues were poor! The usual shite like "We'll never gonna make it" our "It was him or us" boring lines. The actors doesn't beleive in what they're playing which doesn't help. At all.
Patient Zero is also poorly written and very predictable. If you're aware of that sort of zombie flick, you'll know what will happen without the shadow of a twist or any kind of surprise.
Final words : avoid it!

[Brecht]

Phase IV (1974)



Trailer

Something odd happens in space and boosts the evolution of an ant species that develops a hive mind. The ants have started erecting strange towers and creating weird geometric objects in the Arizona desert. Two scientists, Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs (Nigel Davenport) and James R. Lesko (Michael Murphy), set up a lab in an area bristling with ant activity. While Lesko favors a more rational approach with the intent to establish contact with the ants, Hubbs thinks the ants have become far too dangerous for mankind and should be destroyed. Naturally, this is easier said than done.

Apart from the impressive visuals, this is a pretty meaningless film with a badly executed (and confusingly scarce) narrative.

[Reclaimedwg]

I saw Patient Zero posted on Torrent the other day.

I didn't get it.

Was this a movie available only for download on Amazon or Netflix or direct to DVD?

It didn't get a domestic (USA and Canada) theatrical release, it seems.

[Silicone Carne]

Man...that was somz awful choices I made for my monday movies moment...so I'll make it quick. First, I already talked about Patient Zero which is goddamn awful. But then, I tried to keep on horror with this :

The Barn
IMDB


Another "Let's make it like the 80s comedy horror C-grade movie with awful "actors", bad camera moves, cheesy/stupidly irritating dialogues and which desperatly tries to catch a vibe from the late eighties, a great era for horror. But this is not funny, not scary and really painful to watch until the last minute.


Tag
IMDB


I liked Game Night. Bateman, McAdams and the others were funny, the story was well paced and most of the situation depicted were frankly hilarious.
Then came Tag, loosely based on a supposed true story. It involves good actors like Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher, Ed Helms or Jeremy Renner. But guess what?
it's a total mess. All the characters are annoying, selfish dumbasses, I didn't laugh during the entire one 100mn this piece of crap lasted long.


I guess it's time to rely on an old flick I've seen numerous time and love from the bottom of the heart instead of trying to watch some new ones that are complete trash.

[Wendigo]

Rat Man (1988)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095942/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt


A scientist messes with rat and monkey DNA and creates a hybrid rat boy, a bite or scratch from which would mean death to a human in seconds. The creature is played by Nelson De La Rosa and pretty impressive in his make up

Cut to a fashion photoshoot on the beach and the discovery of a body, remarkably undisturbed after a pep talk from the photographer the models carry on regardless, however ratman is on the loose on the island and his appearances are both funny and creepy, throw in a few nude scenes, mix well and voila ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snfthlqUJcM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ek6NStbdQ