What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Markgway]

Impulse (1984-USA) **
An earthquake in a small Midwest town appears to cause most of its inhabitants to lose all impulse control... the reality is even more sinister. First act intrigue with Twilight Zone-like strangeness fails to materialise into anything truly memorable; film suffers from generally weak development and never cuts loose with its sickest desires (this is soft 'R' territory in the main). The most controversial scene - in which initial hero Tim Matheson is blown by a schoolgirl - is so subtle most viewers missed it.

[Markgway]

Headhunters (2011-Norway-Finland-Germany) ***
Self-conscious art thief gets caught up in a web of conspiracy and murder.
Smart, involving thriller with Aksel Hennie an unlikely, but interesting hero.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Honestly I thought the film could have ended after the gunshot.

Indeed, it should have.

Gunshot. Applause. Fade to black.

I'll also say I was really annoyed by Emma Stone (or possibly the director's use of her.) Especially the "You hate bloggers, you mock Twitter, you don’t even have a Facebook page. You’re the one who doesn’t exist. . . . You’re not important. Get used to it." speech which didn't even have an intelligent response to. Given the later scenes (the results of the underwear walk) the director seemed to even agree with these statements. I'm still wondering how having a Facebook page makes you more relevant (especially considering how many Facebook and Twitter accounts of stars are often ran by other people.)

[Markgway]

Hudson Hawk (1991-USA) **½
Cat burglar Bruce Willis is forced by rogue CIA agents into robbing the Vatican, etc...
Mad as a box of spiders... but irresistibly incoherent comic adventure was misunderstood by almost everyone when it was first released. Not perfect, but fun if you can get with its unique spirit.

Hanna (2010-USA-UK-Germany) **
Young German girl is raised in the woods as a lethal killing machine until she's ready to avenge her murdered mother. Misguided action picture; too "weird" for my tastes - what's with the gay assassin and his neo-Nazi henchmen? - and poorly plotted. Saoirse Ronan is good as the eponymous lead, though less convincing in clumsy combat sequences. Unlikely to satisfy many viewers.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Hudson Hawk (1991-USA) **½
Cat burglar Bruce Willis is forced by rogue CIA agents into robbing the Vatican, etc...
Mad as a box of spiders... but irresistibly incoherent comic adventure was misunderstood by almost everyone when it was first released. Not perfect, but fun if you can get with its unique spirit.
...

I've seen it a few times. I never understood the hate for it at the time, other than some weird mass movement of "like opinion bandwagon" which seems to happen from time-to-time (both ways positive and negative.) I tend to like Bruce Willis films and everyone else though I'm not the biggest Sandra Bernhard fan. I gave the film ***/**** (7 out of 10 on IMDB) on my last viewing.

It reminds me I really want to rewatch Ishtar to see what I think of it now (I did not hate it when it came out.) On a side-note when I tried to rewatch Independence Day I just couldn't get through it.

Hanna just does not interest me at this time.

[Markgway]

I tend to like Bruce Willis films and everyone else though I'm not the biggest Sandra Bernhard fan.

Is anyone...?

It reminds me I really want to rewatch Ishtar to see what I think of it now (I did not hate it when it came out.)

I saw that many moons ago and don't remember hating it either. Not sure I'd want to see it again though...

On a side-note when I tried to rewatch Independence Day I just couldn't get through it.

It's rubbish apart from the SFX. Kim Newman gave this five stars in Empire (he must've been under the influence).

Hanna just does not interest me at this time.

You're not missing much.

[grim_tales]

I liked Independence Day when I was a kid, but even then I thought it was a pretty stupid movie. A 'virus' from an Apple Mac or something can kill an alien fleet? Sheesh...

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I liked Independence Day when I was a kid, but even then I thought it was a pretty stupid movie. A 'virus' from an Apple Mac or something can kill an alien fleet? Sheesh...

That was mentioned (well lots of places) in watchmojo top 10 bad plotlines (or something like that) on youtube.

What was funny about this film was how popular it became here in the States. It just kind of took fire. I had seen it early in the theater (at the time I got free showings) and thought OK though I liked the special effects. Rewatching it on the small screen was a pain though where you focus less on the spectacle and more on everything else which hurts the viewing.

I don't know how Kim Newman could have given it a perfect score though.

[Markgway]

What was funny about this film was how popular it became here in the States. It just kind of took fire.

The film is VERY flag-wavy. AMERICA saves the EARTH from annihilation.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

The Boxtrolls (2014: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi):

The style of the animation is definitely grotesque, sometimes a bit too much I think with characters look like they were taken from Oliver Twist and given severe cases of typhoid. But it gives it a uniqueness that is memorable and effective. There are some moments that are definitely icky with one scene definitely inspired by The Meaning of Life (would you like a mint, its wafer thin.) This is definitely not for younger kids as it will disturb them or make them want to consume mass quantities of cheese (hard not to think of the Wallace and Gromit influence here.)

Archibald Snatcher (voiced with gravitas by Ben Kingsley) has a plan to obtain a white hat. The white hat represents a small group of lazy aristocrats who plan the town’s affairs but mostly consume mass quantities of cheese. Apparently cheese is valued more than currency. Snatcher is allergic to cheese and he needs leeches to remedy the swelling (these scenes are nasty looking), but he wants to sit at that table and be somebody in his eyes. He hatches a plan to not only obtain that hat but creates a nighttime of martial law. There are these trolls who use boxes as their attire and come out and steal things. One night a baby was stolen, the dad was eaten and that was the impetus to not only create the night curfew and with his crew of three hooligans (well two of them, voiced by Nick Frost and Richard Ayoade, contemplate their existentialist role in this affair and are not completely bad making them fun and interesting) but talk the town’s white hats into giving him a white hat if he finds all the trolls and disperses with this wave of evil.

We later see the baby Eggs aka the Trubshaw baby (so called because of the cardboard box that he partially lives in) being raised by the trolls (can a human survive off of bugs and where did they poop?) and the mechanically inclined lives they lead. Ten years later while the troll population is dwindling Eggs makes his appearance on the surface to obtain much needed tools and knick-knacks (shouldn’t they get more food.) He is spotted by Winnie (Elle Fanning), the ignored daughter of the main white hat Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris.) I think there will be a connection there.

[some spoilers here] The main theme is that of acceptance. Of course it does help not to jump to conclusions too quickly. But if you did not there would not be a story. Now one might wonder about the minor theme of Snatcher having a dream to get ahead to a higher economic/political/social class and then having that dream ultimately unrealized (reminding me somewhat of John Steinbeck’s The Pearl) because of his social status as well as allergies to cheese. But he is a bad guy and he is ugly (even worse when he dresses as a woman which is quite disturbing) so we will just ignore the resistance to class mobility for that character.

This was nominated for an Academy Award Best Animated Oscar (Big Hero 6 would win, though I am not sure why The Lego Movie was not nominated.) I understand why it has its fans, I overall liked it. Though this might be my least favorite full-length Laika feature (the other three are Corpse Bride, Coraline and ParaNorman). I just did not find it as moving as ParaNorman, not as creepy as Coraline or as aesthetically pleasing as the animation in Corpse Bride. But the animation is memorable, the voices are well done and it is overall a worthy artistic ride.

The ending is my favorite moment of the film which is existential, clever and ultimately has nothing to do with the film’s preceding plot. There is no extra after the credits.

[Killer Meteor]

I don't know how Kim Newman could have given it a perfect score though.

I remember the gushy, 5-star review Total Film gave to Halloween H20. Boy, was that a let-down...

[Markgway]

Before I Go to Sleep (2013-UK-USA-France-Sweden) **
Plodding Hitchcockian thriller in which amnesiac Nicole Kidman wakes every morning with her memory erased and determines to find out who is responsible. Kidman's botox(?) is a constant distraction and Firth comes off as creepy and guilty from the outset. Mark Strong gives probably the best performance as her psychiatrist.

[grim_tales]

I thought that sounded interesting, like Groundhog Day meets Hitchcock (kinda?)

[Markgway]

I thought that sounded interesting, like Groundhog Day meets Hitchcock (kinda?)

It's nothing like as interesting as that.

Though I would pay money to see Bill Murray in a remake.

[saltysam]

Eskimo Nell 1.5/5 mid 70's british sex farce,mildly amusing in parts but very tame these days.

Silver Dream Racer 1.5/5 Tepid David Essex vehicle,he's a wannabe motorbike superstar who inherits his brothers "Silver Dream Machine". Beau Bridges is his brash american rival. one bit of originality and something of a brave move was the very downbeat ending,as Essex was a pretty big star at the time this was made.of course,the americans didn't like it so there's an alternate happy ending that was shown over there. terrible non-anamorphic release from network.

[Markgway]

Cuban Fury (2013-UK) **
Exceedingly mediocre romcom casts tubby Nick Frost as an improbable salsa champion out to impress his attractive female boss (Rashida Jones). Frost isn't really leading man material and laughs are thin on the ground; the talented Jones (a token American here) is better than this.

Lay the Favorite (2012-USA-UK-France) **
English rose Rebecca Hall is surprisingly convincing as a sexy American ditz in this terribly mild gambling comedy-drama. The critical vitriol was underserved, but colourful characters flounder in underwritten script.

[Markgway]

Spaceballs (1987-USA) **½
Mel Brooks' Star Wars spoof holds up pretty well and has many good gags throughout (the cleverest of which is Spaceballs - the VHS).

[saltysam]

All Coppers Are...1.5/5 early 70's british drama about a policeman and a crook who's paths cross involving a girl played by Julia Foster.quite flat and boring.

Assault 2/5 early 70's attempt at a british "giallo",young schoolgirls are being raped and murdered in a forest near the school.the usual red herrings for this genre,ok cast with Suzy Kendall,Frank Finlay and a young Lesley Anne Down.

The Nightcomers 1.5/5 boring prequel to The Innocents,notable only for Brando's "oirish" accent and Stephanie Beacham's chest.

The Imitation Game 3/5 well made if worthy biopic of Alan Turing,the inventor of the enigma code breaking machine that helped win the second world war.good sense of period but i doubt i'd revisit this in a hurry.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Spaceballs (1987-USA) **½
Mel Brooks' Star Wars spoof holds up pretty well and has many good gags throughout (the cleverest of which is Spaceballs - the VHS).

I'm a little higher on this, but then I grew up on this (though like you I have had trouble rewatching Men in Tights). I've seen this so many times that is probably is my favorite later-day Mel Brooks. Funny though how many 1970's Brooks' films I really, really like.

[Markgway]

I'm a little higher on this, but then I grew up on this (though like you I have had trouble rewatching Men in Tights). I've seen this so many times that is probably is my favorite later-day Mel Brooks. Funny though how many 1970's Brooks' films I really, really like.

I've always found Brooks hit and miss, I actually think Spaceballs is one of his funniest. I too grew up watching the VHS, my friend and I used to be able to quote entire scenes.

[saltysam]

Hell Drivers 3/5 cracking cast including Stanley Baker,Patrick McGoohan,Sean Connery,Alfie Bass,Herbert Lom,Gordon Jackson and others in a solid late 50's actioner about a group of men working for a corrupt haulage company.worth watching.

Kidnapping Mr Heineken 1.5/5 tepid drama based on the true story of the kidnapping of the dutch beer magnate of the title.Anthony Hopkins in the title role looks bored throughout.i know how he felt.

[saltysam]

The Seven-Ups 2.5/5 70's cops vs gangsters has a similar vibe to the French Connection and has the great Roy Scheider from that movie as it's lead here.Nowhere near as good and it has pacing issues but it has an incredible near 15 minute car chase that outdoes the one in FC.

The Beyond 3/5 Fulci madness makes no sense,has stilted acting but has a fantastic atmosphere of dread and some suitably gooey effects.

Convoy 3/5 Basing a near two hour movie on a novelty song was going to be a tough ask but i'm in the minority,i thought Peckinpah made a decent,entertaining if overlong film here.

[HungFist]

American Sniper (USA, 2014) [DCP] - 3.5/5
It's interesting how one movie can divide opinions so much. Some of the audiences, especially in USA, seem to consider American Sniper a patriotic tribute to its protagonist while many European critics see it as a critical portrait of a delusional killing machine. I would certainly lean towards the latter opinion and see American Sniper as an anti-war movie, despite the closing scene which can be interpreted as either Eastwood's approval of Kyle's actions or simply his respect for a man who was a victim of war and who believed he was doing the right thing. The closing aside, the Eastwood gives an objective and cinematically somewhat stripped view of war. That is both the film's strength and weakness.

Side note: after three years I finally got to test the biggest screen in town: 18.0m × 7.5m. Normally they just play some Transformers or Marvel crap on it, in other words stuff I couldn't care less about.

[saltysam]

City Of The Living Dead 3/5 more Fulci craziness,little sense,gory as hell,atmospheric,Christopher George and the best "buried alive" sequence i've ever seen.

[Markgway]

In Fear (2012-UK) *½
Overly familiar chiller in which a couple are stranded in rural Ireland with a loon on the loose; a short film padded out to feature length. Another in an ever-expanding catalogue of films which feel that character motivations are strictly for the birds.