Seen any good films lately? [3]

Short fan made Alien film. Not too bad.

{{ Nice Chris, about to crack open a barrel and give it a watch, many of these fan made films turn out to be considerably better than the studio efforts. }}

{ Alien fan film was quite good,liked the setting and main actor, effects are ropey as anythng but they get the job done.

Talking effects love this sort of stuff, and if you have never seen the film in question I highly recommend it, perfect lazy Sunday tv, and great one if you've young kids about. }}

The Critical Drinker says Goodbye.

{{ I happened to catch, part the way through, the other day one of my all time favourite Shakespeare adaptations, Brannaghs first and in my view probably his best, Henry V. And more it happened to be on one of my very favourite scenes- the uncovering of the Traitors at Southampton.



You've got to really feel the pain of the poor actor playing Scrope, that slap was not in the script and apparently came as a bit of a surprise! It was also according to the actor incredibly painful. Painful? You just got slapped by Brian Blessed! I'm amazed he was still able to stay upright. But credit to him for going with it and not breaking character.
Being hit by Brian Blessed must be akin to being hit by a truck.
Talking Blessed this is an incredible scene from him-



and that suit of armour is not a prop, not only is it real armour, it's his own he brought with him for the film! Why am I not at all surprised Brian Blessed has a suit of personal armour. Probably wears it to go to the shops.
But the cast of this film for a Shakespeare fan is unrivalled in cinema in my view; Kenneth Brannagh, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Judi Dench, Brian Blessed, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Briers, Paul Schofield, Robert Stephens, Christopher Ravenscroft, Geraldine McEwan, Michael Maloney and more it's a whose who of the greatest stage, tv, film and especially Shakespearean actors the UK has ever had to offer. A golden generation of actors to whom Shakespeare's words come from the lips as naturally as does modern language. }}

Henry V was a revelation, the first demonstration to many people of how accessible Shakespeare could be.  After I saw it the first time I dragged some friends to see it, and after the king's tirade to Halfleur ("Will you yield and this avoid, or guilty in defence, be thus destroyed?") a friend turned to me and said "I'd surrender too!".   It was far above his other efforts of Hamlet and Much Ado about Nothing.

I could have sworn I had a copy of it, but looking around don't see it.  That needs to be amended.

I do have a copy of Othello, and though Branagh didn't direct it he was in it, and one critic said at the time he was the only living actor who could make Shakespeare sound like street language.

{{ Should warn in case you watch this at work or something, very sweary for a trailer!}}

halfwise wrote:Henry V was a revelation, the first demonstration to many people of how accessible Shakespeare could be.  After I saw it the first time I dragged some friends to see it, and after the king's tirade to Halfleur ("Will you yield and this avoid, or guilty in defence, be thus destroyed?") a friend turned to me and said "I'd surrender too!".   It was far above his other efforts of Hamlet and Much Ado about Nothing.

I could have sworn I had a copy of it, but looking around don't see it.  That needs to be amended.

I do have a copy of Othello, and though Branagh didn't direct it he was in it, and one critic said at the time he was the only living actor who could make Shakespeare sound like street language.

Much Ado About Nothing is pretty good though!

Speaking of my post in the Two Towers thread, I saw The Longest Day today, and except for a few bits of cheese (mostly from John Wayne drawling so much) I thought it was great. Not melodramatic like Spielberg, and with a great variety of scenes and characters.

I wasn't as impressed with Much Ado about Nothing, but that may be the play's fault, not Branaugh's.

I think so. The conclusion to the Hiero (sp?) plot always feels pretty dumb.

Saw Furiosa. For any other film the road battle scenes would be epic, but this one has to be compared to Fury Road, and it's not quite there. There's other things, though.

They hired Anya Taylor Joy for her fiercely expressive eyes, but bless her, she doesn't have the physicality. Charlize Theron is only two inches taller, but not so willowy and she could dominate every scene. There's plenty of camera tricks to make an actor seem larger, but they slipped up in one scene and placed ATJ surrounded by the typically ginormous road warrior men, and it was out of the bag: amongst them she's just a wee thing. A sapling among oaks.

She's got the acting chops, but a snarling kitten is still a kitten, for all that.

{{ New Silent Hill film on the way, Return to Silent Hill. Its from the same French director, Christophe Gans as did the first SH film- I have mixed feelings about that one, it nailed the look and atmosphere perfectly, but it never worked out how to convey the narrative, given how obscurely the games do this, and how open to interpretation by design many of the elements of the narrative are this was always going to be the hard bit. But their solution- dumb it all down, over explain to the audience and simplify did not work or do the original justice.
Going on this trailer this is an adaptation of Silent Hill 2- largely considered the best of the franchise and certainly the darkest and most disturbing, not visually but narratively. It is also my personal favourite. Which is why I am worried.
The narrative of SH 2 is dear to my heart, it's a beautifully crafted game and its narrative has to be realised by the player. For example you are never directly told that Maria is Jame's sexualised fantasy of his wife, or that the sexualised nature of the faceless nurses are drawn from James eyeing up nurses at the hospital his sick wife was kept in, the imagery and symbolism is just there for you to interpret once you start to twig that all the 'monster's are just SH manifesting Jame's inner demons and angels. Film can't really work on quite such an impressionable level, not and be mainstream anyway, it requires more direct explanation. And I wonder how they are going to do the tragic tale of James and Mary justice in the film format given that and the original's more subtle use of mood, tone, setting, imagery and sound to convey narrative.
As with the first film however, visually it's pretty damn spot on to the game it's based on, shot for shot by looks of it in some scenes. }}

{{ One of my favourite comedy films of all time is Spinal Tap, the first and best mockumentary. But in all the years Ive watched that film, and I must have seen it at least half a dozen times, it never once occurred to me that the entire cast are Americans! Their accents sound flawless. }}

The mirror reflection was when I first learned that Hugh Laurie was British. His American accent in House was impeccable. He said it was always agony for him trying to get it right, but it sounded totally natural. Not to mention his acting skills going from comedy to drama: Tom Hanks never carried the part for me as a dramatic actor; Robbin Williams was just always off. But Laurie was totally convincing as a tormented curmudgeon.

For me it was Renee Zellweger, Her British accent in "Bridget Jones" films, especially the 1st one, was dam good !

Surprisingly good film. Watched it again a couple of days later.

So far Ive really, really liked Guy Ritchies films, so look forward to this one

I can't figure out any way to watch it. I missed it when it came out in theatres, have to wait for it to come out in streaming somewhere.

So here's some historical background on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. One of the agents once submitted a field report: " Turned up, killed some Germans, fucked off."

https://www.timeout.com/news/how-historically-accurate-is-guy-ritchies-the-ministry-of-ungentlemanly-warfare-042324

Wasn't James Bond based on Henry Cavills character?

{{ Halfy if you haven't ever seen this I think you will enjoy, if that's the right word, or at least be left as I was, in utter awe. }}

Started watching it, something I don't understand. It's said that Britain would starve without convoys, but isn't Britain agrarian enough to feed itself (or at least come close)?

I cant help but get engrossed in these stories especially if read by someone who brings them to life as well as Clarkson. There must be so many untold stories out there and no doubt stories we will never know because of "secrets Acts" let alone the sad loss of these brave people, some couldnt have families of their own.

{{ Clarkson's an excellent narrator, he has a schoolboyish enthusiasm for his subject and infectious delight in his delivery.

Halfy the UK imports the majority of its food. Our farms are not enough to provide for the whole population. Dig For Britain and stuff was common throughout the war and of course we had rationing up until the 1950's. Our country, and Empire, was built on overseas trade, it was cheaper to get massive quantities of grain by ship from the Black Sea than it was to give over vast tracts of land to producing it at home. Then as members of the EU Common Market our farming fell under EU wide farming where how much you produce and export and import is balanced up against all the other farming nations, most particularly France and the Netherlands. This led to farmers being subsidised to not grow stuff. So even now we still import far more than we produce, and all of what we produce would not sustain us on its own. It is a dangerous oversight in my view. But it's been going on probably since the industrial revolution took all the workers from the rural farms to the industrialised towns and cities.}}