The Last Film You Watched

Am seeing Twisters today, but not in 4DX! Would probably have done it for fun if there was a cinema around that offered it though.

Twisters - ***

I will have forgotten every thing about this by next week, but in the moment it was fun enough if not a little too predictable.

I was trying to think yesterday, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it! Perhaps a little too young at release and then wasn’t a favoured VHS!

Ahead of seeing Deadpool and Wolverine later in the week, decided to finally watch Deadpool 2 earlier: I really didn’t like the first DP film (sure Ryan Reynolds would pop up with a sh*te ‘ooh er’ at this point if he could), it all seemed rather cheap and tawdry and line after line that came out of Ryan Reynolds mouth just fell flat so after a while I was just hoping he would stfu and it would end. Possibly due to David Leitcg being hired as director but I thought this was a lot better, the cgi fights were kept to a sort of minimum (why do superhero films insist on a couple of big cgi things having a punch up, it’s like watching someone else play a video game?) and there were a nice couple of A list cameos too. I’ll aim somewhere between three and four stars for this.

Saw three films this weekend:

Bringing Out the Dead - a Martin Scorsese flick from 1999. I saw it in 35mm at the Prince Charles. Considered lesser Scorsese but honestly maybe rivalling Raging Bull for my favourite from him that I've seen so far. It feels like Scorsese by way of David Lynch and as a Lynch-lover that really does it for me. A relatively understated performance from Nic Cage too which is nice to see.

Longlegs - I'd heard a lot of praise for this and some more lukewarm reactions. Unfortunately for me I'm in the latter camp. It has a great setup. The atmosphere is thick and it's actually quite scary. Then as things get explained and clichés pile on top of each other it loses all its steam and falls flat. I felt nothing by the end. If you want a classic big Nic Cage performance though then this is the film (he's not actually in it a huge amount but he makes the most of every frame he's in - whether that's a good or bad thing will depend on the person).

Wild Strawberries - Saw this at the BFI because I was looking for something to fill my Sunday. A surprisingly tender and hopeful film from Ingmar Bergman whom I've enjoyed before but is usually very cynical and depressing. This was sometimes like that but ultimately a quite funny and heartwarming look at aging, loneliness and regret and how maybe it's never too late to change. The voiceover was a little too expository - I thought the visual language was enough to get the point across most of the time so to have it spelled out explicitly wasn't necessary (perhaps that's because of films like this creating that visual language though - audiences at the time might not have had the same preconceptions that modern audiences do and so would have had to have this kind of thing explained so I can forgive that). Some of the acting, especially in the flashbacks, was a little too melodramatic for my taste too. Overall Bringing Out the Dead was my favourite of the three but this is a close second.

Muriel’s Wedding. What a classic ❤️

Saw Down By Law at the Prince Charles the other night for the first time in ages, it’s good fun (if you can ignore the pimping and murders that got our ‘heroes’ in jail in the first place) but it only really comes alive when Roberto Benigni shows up (although this and Night On Earth are the only films of his I’ve seen, I’ve heard his other stuff in Italy is an er, acquired taste) and like just about every other Jim Jarmusch film, essentially not a lot happens but altogether now: ‘I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream🤣)

Thelma.
So funny...

In contrast, I saw it (Deadpool & Wolverine) this afternoon and enjoyed it a lot - many laugh out loud moments, but I don't want to post spoilers. I am not a Marvel fan, but have found both Deadpool and Deadpool 2 very much worth watching, because they send themselves up so effectively. Mary Poppins steals every scene she is in, the special effects are extremely competent - I envisage nightmares about Cassandras fingers - and I found the final coda (totally an extended swearathon) both amusing and interesting in the context of the film. I have not seen an X-men (Wolverine) film before and probably missed a plethora of jokes, but that was not a problem. If you have not enjoyed DP or DP2, and they have been on TV relentlessly recently, then D&W is unlikely to change your opinion. I thought this was more of - maybe slightly better - than before, and I look forward to seeing it a second time on TV to pick up on more of the many references (eg Jackmans musicals career) that I missed this occasion. They sometimes come thick and fast [insert your own innuendo here].

Certainly not for everyone (what is?), but if you like the premise, then you could do a lot worse. Very easily.

Plus, with the Meerkat offer, it cost us less than £3.50 each, in the luxury seating of the Dolby Atmos screen of our local multiplex.

This week, we have watched Wicked Little Letters and Mrs Harris Goes to Paris.

The former was ok but it had a few elements that rankled. I know films don't have to strictly follow court rules when staging trials but this took too many liberties for a law graduate to accept!

Decent performances though the lovely Hugh Skinner doesn't convince as slightly laddish.

Mrs Harris was utterly charming. Lesley M was perfection. The supporting cast well crafted. I particularly loved the score.

Borderlands - **

No affinity with the video game so don't have any comparison criticisms, it's just super meh. Did have fun watching Cate Blanchett being sassy and sexy and shooting stuff, and it's always good to see Jamie Lee Curtis!