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I haven't posted in here for a bit, but seen a few recently.

Ghostbusters

Finally got around to this one. It started off well, but I was just a bit bored of it about halfway through to be honest. Glad I watched it. Glad it was on a plane and not paid for at the cinema.

David Brent: Life on the Road

I like the character, but a whole flim of it didn't quite work for me and got a bit tedious.

Morgan

Knew nothing about it, but gave it a go on the plane. I liked it. Nothing really new and all a bit predictable, but very watchable with good performances. Reminded me a bit of Ex Machina, but not actually a patch on Ex Machina.

Don't Breathe

Meh. Worth a watch I guess and just confirms what I already knew that blind people are evil.

Lights Out

Load of crap really. Luckily, it was very short.

Assassins Creed

No idea why I went to watch this having never played the games, but I quite enjoyed it really. Mindless s**te, but it all looked very good and had a strong cast.

Collateral Beauty

A really lovely film. I thought after giving it a while, I'd probably start to see it as sentimental bollocks really. It is, but I'd still recommend it.

A Street Cat Named Bob

Not my thing at all. No interest in watching it, and I was basically right. Sentimental - sorry "inspirational" - tosh with an incredibly annoying lead actor/character who it was impossible to actually give two f**ks about.

A Monster Calls

I literally had no idea what this was, but I was just passing and it was about to start, so gave it a go based on the poster. Absolutely not what I thought it would be based on the title and poster, but it was fantastic. Yeah, the "message" was a bit basic really, and I could kind of see it coming since there's not much else it could've been, but it was a gorgeous film. Best thing I've seen in a while actually.
 
La La Land
I'm not a big musical fan outside of animated films so I wasn't sure what to expect of this. The intro scene is absolutely horrid and I was ready to hate this film, but it's actually a pretty great film. Gorgeously filmed, great performances by the entire cast, good soundtrack and a really nice dream-like atmosphere. It's not the kind of film that I can go completely nuts over, but it's definitely an excellent film. 4/5.

Passengers
Meh, I liked it at the start. It was interesting enough. But then it got really boring with hardly anything happening at all. Towards the end when there was actually stuff happening, it sort of felt forced. It was alright really, not awful but not something I'd recommend to everybody. It's not the worst film of the year (that honour goes to Deadpool for me personally). 2/5.
 
Thought I might give a few mini reviews of my favorite films of 2016, roughly in order

1. Manchester by the Sea- my gosh, I'm unsure I've ever been so effected by a film. I mean, I watch a good amount of movies, and I am hard to really wow. However, this is truly one of the best films I've ever seen. The main character may be my favorite character in any movie, and it contains two of my favorite scenes I've ever seen. While this might simply be because of when I saw it, but it has made a large impact on my life. I'm unsure I'll ever be able to forget this movie. I could see people not enjoying it, however, for the right person, it is an unbelievable experience. I think everyone needs to watch this.
2. Moonlight - a fantastic film and one that feels wholly unique in its own right. I loved the way the storytelling was done, and the main character is one of my favorites I've seen in a movie. These two are must sees.
3. Arrival - This and La La Land are in about the same place for me. However, if I could watch one of these again, it would definitely be Arrival. I love Sci Fi and especially realistic Sci Fi, so this just really had me floored. Really have no issues with this movie. I thought it was just fantastic.
4. La La Land - a great movie with a lot of emotion, great performances and great music. Ryan Gosling is one of my young favorite actors right now, and he shines in this. It mixes a good amount of nostalgic "old school" cinematic looks with modern looks and feelings. I was afraid it would feel like an imitation of older musical films, but it certainly feels like its own unique project. It doesn't hold a candle to Whiplash, but I'm unsure what could really. See it.
5. Kubo and the Two Strings - was shocked at this one. Well done in every way and just had a compelling story with a fantastic message. I'm a sucker for great kid's films and this delivered for me on so many levels. Plus, the craftsmanship in the claymation is unreal.
6. Hell or High Water- yet another great movie. I felt this had a few drier moments especially towards the beginning, but the second and third act had me very involved. Jeff Bridges delivers a fantastic performance, and even Chris Pine is very good. Recommend.
7. The Witch- terrifying film. One of the most effective horror films I've ever seen. The tension just eats you alive while watching it. The slow pace adds so much to the film though. Any horror fan should see this.
8. Nice Guys- just a fun buddy cop movie. For me, this was the highlight movie of summer just because I had such a fun time watching it. I can't really see many people not enjoying this. It's interesting and hilarious. Yet again Ryan Gosling is amazing.
9. Edge of Seventeen- a great teen movie. I think it is a film that I enjoyed less and less after I left however. I hated the ending, but most of the film is both hilarious and emotional. Very well done movie.
10. Zootopia- Disney <3. This is their best animated movie since Lion King for me. Just fantastic. Now that it is on Netflix no one has a reason to not see it.
11. Deadpool- the one great superhero movie this year. Hilarious and as enjoyable as a movie can get.
12. 10 Cloverfield Lane- John Goodman! He is so underrated in this where he is truly haunting. A very well done horror movie with one of the worst endings in recent history.
13. Moana- Another triumphant success for Disney. This has the catchiest soundtrack for a Disney film in a long time. I often find myself listening to the songs on Spotify. Would recommend this highly.
14. Jungle Book- very well done movie. Fantastic CGI and a great examples of how to do a live action remake.
15. Boo! A Madea Halloween- I'm sorry, but I loved it. I'm so so sorry, but I laughed the whole time.
 
Worst of 2016 since I'm on a car trip and very bored

1. Sausage Party- haha animated things say bad words. Oh ya and here is why God isn't real. **** this movie. Just a piece of ****
2. London has Fallen- not even sure why I watched this. Boring, next.
3. Suicide Squad- dear lord. Wtf is this **** . I mean could they really not do better? The potential here was great, but DC let a trailerhouse edit it. A **** trailerhouse. So this is legitimately a 2 hour trailer. Also has the worst performance I've possibly ever seen from Jared Leto who is playing the Joker like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
4. Secret Life of Pets- I hate Illuminations. They make cheap, pandering, **** movies that simply lower the IQs of kids. I think children's movies can be something amazing. It's sad to see something this mediocre make so much money. Also minions are disgusting and make me want to do. This movie that has nothing to do with minions has minions in the beginning who go like "banana" and say none sense. After five minutes of minions, I threw up on the kid in front of me. However, he apologized to me since he knew I was in great pain.
5. The Shallows- everybody loved this, and I don't know why. It's an hour and a half of nothing but a woman on a rock.
6. Ghostbusters- hate. Very funny cast who I've loved in different movies, but this movie just didn't work for me. Didn't laugh and found it oddly lazy.
7. Rogue One- look at my review a few posts ago
8. Batman v Superman- a 4 and a half hour film where two heroes threaten to kill each other and just kill everything they can. First 3 hours are boring exposition where nothing happens then the next hour and a half is explosions n explosions. Not as high cause I actually like everything involving Batman. Affleck did a good job. Superman is as boring a block of wood though. And Jesse Eisenberg, dear lord.
9. X-Men Apocalypse- bleh. Big blue man tries to kill EVERYBODY for no real reason and then X-Men fight him in a 1 hour fight scene with sand and running and punching and a lady in a purple leotard with like sword things who just showed up and left four minutes later. Also they go to Auschwitz and blow it up, I'm not joking.

Nine Lives- this film is fantastic. This is a new classic in so bad it's good for me. Seen it twice already and would watch it again. <3
 
Rogue One
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6/10 meh
 
Had a film day yesterday. Started with Manchester by the sea. This film is really good, very emotional. About half way through there's a bit of backstory that is revealed and just totally changes your opinion of what came before. I can see why this is getting awards hype.

La La Land. I was looking forward to this, a new musical that's getting loads of hype? Count me in! Well I was severely disappointed. The music is good, but as songs they were terrible, for some reason the singing was really weak? It's really dull and while it looks great throughout most of it, there's just nothing happening that is remotely interesting. Maybe I'm being a little harsh but it was just such a wasted opportunity.

A monster calls. Another really sad film. I loved it though, I thought the cast were great, I liked how they didn't have to over-explain why she was ill etc, it was just dealt with perfectly.

Live by night. I think Ben Affleck has been a brilliant director so far so I was looking forward to this despite not being the biggest fan of gangster flicks. It was so tedious and dull, such a shame. And where Affleck is bulky at the mo because he's Batman the suits looked super awkward on him and I found it really distracting. Not helped by a really lacklustre script with a plot that wasn't all that exciting or new. It dragged and it wasn't just me that felt that way, everyone was looking at the time the whole way through. The only saving grace was a couple of stand out performances in the second half of the film and the action sequence towards the end was ok.


Overall, not the best start to 2017, but then again awards season is always full of films trying too hard.
 
Sing

I really enjoyed this film, I think the trailers make it look awful but it worked really well. It's very by-the-numbers in terms of plot but it's executed well and is just enjoyable.

Split

Urgh, I gave up on M. Night Shyamalananaana years ago but gave him the benefit of the doubt with this after some positive reviews. Wish I hadn't bothered. I enjoyed James McAvoy's performance but aside from that it really wasn't worth it. From the way it was shot, to the tedious dialogue and that dreadful ending.
It's all a big reference to Unbreakable - a film I haven't seen

Denial

Wow, this was fantastic, not really big screen material but an excellent film with amazing performances from a great cast. I highly recommend once it hits Netflix/TV etc.
 
quick catch up since mid december!

Moana - Beautiful, an epic adventure done in only the way disney can - who else could make killer coconuts look so damn lovely! I swear they could film paint drying and it would be sublime! 4.5/5

Rogue one - Took a while to get going, but did have some good action - prefer tfa though - 3/5

A monster calls - pretty good but could have done with some more of those fabulous animated stories.. 3.5/5

La la land - didn't really rate it, enjoyed some of the songs, but couldn't connect with the characters or story - 3/5


And I made good use of my limitless card this past week!

Hacksaw ridge - intense, brutal and utterly fantastic - slightly silly backstory about his father though - 5/5 (ps - am I the only one who thinks Andrew Garfield looks a bit like Andy Murray?)

Manchester by the sea - beautiful - lighthearted yet serious, funny yet sad, charcters are all so believable and their rather dysfunctional sweary world had me gripped from the start! - 5/5 (ps - am I the only one who thinks Patrick looks a bit like Prince Harry?)

Kubo and the 2 strings - missed this one last year, but felt I really should watch it, originally booked for new years day, and missed it cos I had flu, so was chuffed when I saw it was back on for kids weekend morning films. Just wow - great storyline, visually excellent - a great example of why animated films are just too good for kids - another clear 5/5! (ps - am I the only one who thought beatle looked and sounded a bit like buzz lightyear crossed with zap brannigan?
 
Lego Batman

I loved this, it's funny right from the very beginning. Lots of characters and references littered throughout. The digs at Suicide Squad were fun. Thought the voice cast were excellent. Very tempted to see this again if I get a chance.


Prevenge

Thought this sounded hilarious, a woman who goes on a killing spree because her baby tells her to. However I found it really dull, there was the odd moment of amusement but I think it was a great concept spread too thinly.


Hacksaw Ridge

Really enjoyed this, the guy was crazy brave and it's just a fascinating story. I thought the battle scenes were rather intense and the actors all did a brilliant job.


Hidden figures

Also really enjoyed this, a great cast and it had a great humour about it which helped balance out the more sad story elements. Yet another fascinating group of real people though, was reading more about Katherine Johnson yesterday, the calculations she was able to do in her head were insane.
 
A couple that i've seen recently.....
La La Land
Thought I was gonna hate this after the first song but no it was brilliant. Even though it was a musical I felt like the music complimented it really well and wasn't like in your face breaking into song during a conversation style. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have the most amazing on screen chemistry and visually it was really beautiful.
A Monster Calls
Hadn't heard much about this but saw a couple of people mention it on social media so thought i'd give it a watch. Brilliant cast and a really interesting film, I especially loved the animated scenes. Very sad though and had me crying during a couple of the scenes.
Fifty Shades Darker
Awful. Not even Jamie Dornan could save this. Me and a friend decided we'd give the films a go since we read all the books, but nah this was just so bad that we were actually laughing at points that were meant to be serious. Think i'll give the final one a miss.
 
Had a bit of a binge this past weekend.

The Accountant

Enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

Lego Batman

It wasn't the Lego movie. It was missing the magic from it. That said I enjoyed it and all the in jokes. Was hoping for more.

Patriots Day

Marky Mark and The Boston Police Boys. I enjoyed it, if you can enjoy a movie like that, as it mixed real footage and then what they filmed well together. I remember this event very clearly as I was in DC and it caused them to have a bigger barrier around the White house because they didn't know who did it and whee they were going. Bunch of bitches.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 
^I'm still not sure if I want to bother with Patriots Day when it comes out. I'm hearing lots of good things though. I'll see if I have the time I guess.


Moonlight
I can see why this is getting attention. Quite a simple story of a guy growing up, focusing on 3 different periods of his life. I thought it was fantastic, some of the camera work annoyed me but aside from that it was really engaging and tackled bullying etc really well. The cast were also great.


John Wick: Chapter 2
I thoroughly enjoyed the first one but don't remember much about it. This was the same, an excellent action film that doesn't take itself seriously, shot incredibly well and is entertaining throughout. The action set pieces were fantastic and never got repetitive. Highly recommend.
 
With the oscars coming up tonight, I'll give my list of favourite films of 2016. Seen quite a few and I'm bad at choosing, so I'll make it a top 25.

1. Nocturnal Animals - An ambitious, thrilling, beautifully shot, well acted and incredibly clever piece of art. It's definitely the film that has affected me the most of past year.
2. Hacksaw Ridge - Dare I say it's my fave war film since Saving Private Ryan? I love the peaceful first half as a build-up, which makes the second half even more intense and devastating. The battle scenes genuinely made me feel like I was in the middle of the war, they were intense and chaotic.
3. The Handmaiden - A brilliant Hitchcock-esque story full with twists and turns. Gorgeous cinematography, costumes and sets. Mix it with a bit of Asian weirdness and a explicit lesbian sex scene and you get this wonderful film.
4. La La Land - I love it. Sure, the story is nothing ground breaking, but it has so much going for it still. It's so beautiful to look at with great editing and art-directon. Well acted with two lovely actors. And the music is so memorable. I love the dream-like atmosphere. I feel that this is sort of a Disney film for adults. It has a certain magic to it.
5. Manchester by the Sea - Casey Affleck carries this film. It's so depressing, but just a great film that really leaves an impact.
6. A Monster Calls - I love coming-of-age films if done right. It's so beautiful, emotional and when everything gets together during the end it just gets me.
7. Vaiana - A great addition to the Disney musical line-up with great animation and music. Very lovable film <3
8. Lion - Very emotional film. The first half was fantastic and while I didn't like the second half as much, it was still great as a whole. That little Sunny Pawar was adorable!
9. Hell or High Water - Great modern western. I love the dialogue and the banter between the two duos of the film.
10. Arrival - I loved the concept, atmosphere and the suspense. Amy Adams also delivered a solid performance. Not sure why she got spited by the oscars. She was definitely better than Meryl Streep and Ruth Negga.
11. Brimstone - Incredibly dark and ****ed up, but also well written and memorable. It's a film I both love and hate, but I can't deny that it made an impact and is very well made.
12. Zootopia - This has to be one of Disney's better stories. The world-building is also impressive. Loved it.
13. Captain Fantastic - Viggo Mortensen is awesome. The kids are awesome. The film is awesome <3
14. Rogue One - The Force Awakens didn't really do it for me, but I did love this one. It's darker and grittier than the other ones and the third act is just fantastic.
15. The Nice Guys - Just plain good fun without it trying to be more. Had plenty of laughs and the young girl who went along with the two cops was badass.
16. The Edge of Seventeen - Hailee Steinfeld <3 She really makes this film with her sassiness. Such a lovable bitch. The dialogue was so witty and the 1,5 hour just flew by.
17. Moonlight - The first two chapters are excellent, but I just felt completely disconnected with the story and main character as soon as the third chapter started. I felt it sort of collapsed there. Still really good, but I'm not as big of a fan of it as most.
18. Silence - I'm not religious myself, but this was a very unique film that still made me think about it long after I had seen the film. Gorgeously shot and acted as well.
19. Fences - The acting is fantastic though it felt a bit overdone sometimes. It doesn't bother me that the entire 2,5 hour film plays just in the house and garden, because the writing is excellent.
20. Hush - A film that kept me holding my breath until it ended. Not that scary but SO INTENSE!
21. The Light Between Oceans - A very depressing and slow-paced film, but so beautiful as well. Oscar worthy acting, cinematography and music. I still think about it occasionally which is a good sign.
22. The Jungle Book - Such an impressive film. Just shows how far CGI has come. The Disney animated film is one of my childhood films so this was quite special.
23. Elle - I can see why it's so controversial, but it's also really tense and the performance of Isabelle Huppert is just amazing.
24. Hidden Figures - Definitely the weakest of the Best Picture nominated films, but I still quite enjoyed it with a good cast.
25. The Red Turtle - A unique dialogue-less animated film that isn't necessarily the best thing released this year, but because it's so original and beautiful, it deserves a mention.

That covers basically every film of the year that I really liked, though there was plenty more goodness.
 
The Cure For wellness

All fart but no ****.

A good concept that'll always make an average film if the plot isn't too bad. This plot was awful, so much unexplained yet so cliche from the beginning. The first half set the scene quite well but it quickly gets rather stupid just unwraps like a melted chocolate bar. Would be ok if it wasn't so messy.
 
ThomVD said:
With the oscars coming up tonight, I'll give my list of favourite films of 2016. Seen quite a few and I'm bad at choosing, so I'll make it a top 25.
**SNIP**
That covers basically every film of the year that I really liked, though there was plenty more goodness.
Click to expand...

No room for Kubo?
 
Not sure why, but Kubo didn't really do it for me. It looked beautiful and was very creative, but I thought it was poorly paced, dialogue was a bit clunky and it generally just didn't really click with me. Still liked it, but not as much as the ones I listed.
 
The Founder

A really enjoyable film, pacing was a bit odd, sometimes it felt like it was going to fast/skipping stuff and other times it just lulled about. I'm always fascinated by these types of stories but boy do the peeps in the story annoy me.


Logan

Was really looking forward to seeing this and it totally exceeded my expectations. I've enjoyed the stand alone Wolverine films despite clearly being a bit awful, however this film is on another level. Going full-gore in the action scenes really makes it stand out. I found it quite emotional at times and some scenes totally took me by surprise, the acting is just fantastic . It's not perfect but I think it's my second favourite X-Men film (after Deadpool).
 
Logan
One bad-ass film, this. Very, very different to all the other entries in the saga - more grown up, more personal, more down-to-earth, a lot more savage... and all the better for it. Plays more like 'Man On Fire' than a regular Marvel movie. Which is a good thing.
Bit talky in places perhaps, could have done with 10 or 15 mins shaved off the running time, but those talky bits pay off in the end, making the finalé a really rather emotional affair. Pack some tissues.
Kudos to Patrick Stewart as 'Chuck' Xavier. Brilliant work, old man, brilliant work.
First film I've seen in ages where the audience clapped & cheered at the end.
8/10.
 
Some stuff since last time. I'm sure there must be more, but I can't think of them now.

Logan

I basically agree with what others have said: it's excellent. It's completely unlike any other of the films in the franchise. It's almost like a standalone film really, and probably could have been, but it might not have had the same impact if you're not at least passingly familiar with the characters. Patrick Stewart's performance is award-worthy, but that's obviously not happening since it was released at the wrong time and "superhero" films - though this really isn't one - are basically never looked at (Deadpool was nominated for stuff under a "comedy" category).

Jackie

I liked it up to a point, but found myself mentally switching off about halfway through. Natalie Portman is very good in that she does quite a bit more than impersonate Jackie Kennedy, but she was never really convincing enough to make you forget you were watching Natalie Portman.

La La Land

I thought I'd put this in earlier, but clearly not. I really enjoyed it at the time, which is obviously a good thing, but in hindsight it doesn't hold any water. If I was watching it at home, instead of being "trapped" in the cinema, I'd have probably spent most of it checking my Facebook. My issues with it:

  • Incredibly repetitive music. It's mostly just variations on the exact same theme, and it's not even that good.
  • Considering it's a musical with dance numbers, the lead actors are crap at singing and dancing. Their acting was very good, admittedly, but the poor musical sections were a distraction.
  • Very unlikable characters when you think about it. Not that you have to like the characters, obviously, but we're kind of rooting for this "lovely" couple when they're actually just a pair of c**ts who look pretty.
  • Actually a crap premise for a story: couple break up due to scheduling conflicts.
  • Award fodder - Hollywood voters vote for films about Hollywood since it makes them think that their jobs are important and they like to think they recognise the "struggles" of the characters.
Honestly, I think this will be the Oscar version of Avatar. A massive film at the time which nobody will watch a second time and will disappear from public consciousness very quickly, only to be remembered because of the f**k up at the Oscars. When you compare to the joint record holders, Titanic and All About Eve, I don't imagine for a second that this will have anywhere near the longevity and be a cultural reference point for years/decades to come.

For a film I enjoyed watching at the time, as I did with Avatar, I'm surprised that the more I think about it, the more I actually detest it.

Hidden Figures

Very good film. I watched it partly because I f**king love Taraji P. Henson, and mostly because I was very curious to see what Janelle Monae was like as an actress since I absolutely adore that woman. She was excellent. Definitely one to watch and no doubt will be getting flooded with offers after being in two films that were nominated for Best Picture, one of which won. I hope she doesn't move away from music though. Anyway, yeah, very good film all around with an excellent cast, right down to the smaller roles.

Moonlight

I didn't enjoy it - it's a slog to get through - but it's very clearly an excellently made film and very original in terms of the themes. Award bait? Possibly, since it ticks a lot of boxes in that area, but not an undeserving Oscar winner by any stretch. So yeah, an "excellent" film that is actually quite bloody boring to sit through if that makes sense.

Lego Batman

Loved it. Just a lot of fun and very funny for a "kids" film.

Split

Another one I thought I'd mentioned since it was ages ago now. Meh. Watchable rubbish I suppose. Hated the ending and found the whole premise of split personalities tired and trite. People raving about James McAvoy's performance - no. A series of over-affected mannerisms and a couple of passable accents isn't an indication of solid acting.



 
Went to see La La Land at the weekend, because the wife wanted to.
Didn't like the opening scene, just didn't fit with the rest of the film, also not a fan of the floating in the Planetarium bit. Rest of it was OK, but really lacked drive in the first 1/2, once it started moving the story it was quite enjoyable. I thought Emma's acting was cracking though, no surprise she won the award.
Not my kind of film, I'd rather re-watch Die Hard.
 
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