What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Batman (2022)

A very good return to form for Batman following the misfire of casting Ben Affleck in the role. Here Robert Pattinson plays Trent Reznor, i mean Bruce Wayne and the Batman attempting to track down the murderous Riddler who is targeting Gotham's elite citizens.

The Batman is dark, very dark both in look and content with the story and characters seemingly set in the same universe as the tv series Gotham and the comic book stories The Long Halloween and Year One. I liked Pattinson he seemed ideal for the role as did seedy Paul Dano as Riddler all decked out in his winter combat mask , very much a crazed terrorist rather than the question mark emblazoned green suited villain of the past. Meanwhile Colin Farrell was totally unrecognizable as Penguin, working away in the background of Carmine Falcone's (John Turturro) crime empire.

Aiding Batman, in a fashion, were Selina Kyle (Zoe Saldana) and the every reliable James Gordon (The ever reliable Jeffrey Wright) whilst Andy Serkis played Alfred in much the same way as Sean Pertwee did in the Gotham series.

The film, directed by Matt Reeves is the moodiest example of a screen Dark Knight to date, there's barely a chink of light to be seen, and i don't just mean due to the low lighting style. Parts of the film are fascinating, others exhilarating. However at three hours it is too long. The first hour went quite quickly but the half hour that followed sagged somewhat until the ante was upped once more as we arrived at a thrilling finale.

This is a million miles away from the planet chucking, universe hopping nonsense that Marvel subject us to every couple of months. It's grim, merciless and grounded in a grief stricken seedy reality echoing Film Noir rather than a Disney cartoon. I liked it.

[MrBarlow]

Siege. 1983.

A gay bar is targeted by sociopaths, one person manages to escape and get help from friends who decide to fight back.

Using a police strike to coincide on why there is very little police presence in the film was a good touch to add to this tense thriller. It does have that look of Assault on precinct 13 everyone in one building fighting off the outsiders and trying to stay alive. The acting in this was decent to keep things entertaining even if it is low budget, one I'd happy watch again.

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[MrBarlow]

The Mercenary. 2019.

Max is mercenary who is left for dead after a botched mission and is found by a priest. Adjusting to his new life. Max's past comes back and is trying to find peace but ends up using his fighting skills.

Some low budget B grade movie that Steven Seagal would have been proud to do but we have Dominiquie Vandenberg as the main character Max seeking forgiveness for his past sins. The plot is a bit thin but there is plenty of action, and a bit of a decent sword and knife fight.

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[MrBarlow]

There Are No Saints. 2022


A former hitman released from prison looks to start a new life and soon his past comes back.

Jose Maria Yazpik takes on the role as Neto Niente, known on the street as "The Jesuit". This was a very slow burner of a movie with a bit of a decent character build up and some decent fights, shoot outs and a small torture scene. Although Ron Perlman is credited in this his on screen presence is roughly about 10 minutes but brings his acting perfectly to the screen as a vengeful person.

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[Dave Boy]

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THE HEROES OF TELEMARK (1965)

Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris lead a raid on a German factory which is making an atomic bomb.
Based on a true story of the Norwegian raid. Good, classic movie movie.

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D-DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE (1956)

On the way to the Normandy beaches, two men think about the same woman that they love.
Not an action movie but an engaging romantic story with Dana Wynter torn between the two men. Good movie with a sad ending.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I'd love a decent Blu-ray of The Heroes of Telemark. My dvd looks shit.

[Demoncrat]

The Drone (2019, Jordan Rubin)

Hands down the silliest film I'll see this year. A serial killer's "essence" is transported into ... go on guess
Played straight with ne'r the hint of a wink, this could easily be the stupidest flick yet. Take a bloody hammer to the thing!!
Like an extended Trigger Happy TV sketch gone wrong, our protagonists find that not all tech is user friendly. Worst EVAH kiss off line as well. Hilariously bad.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Batman (2022)

A very good return to form for Batman following the misfire of casting Ben Affleck in the role. Here Robert Pattinson plays Trent Reznor, i mean Bruce Wayne and the Batman attempting to track down the murderous Riddler who is targeting Gotham's elite citizens.

The Batman is dark, very dark both in look and content with the story and characters seemingly set in the same universe as the tv series Gotham and the comic book stories The Long Halloween and Year One. I liked Pattinson he seemed ideal for the role as did seedy Paul Dano as Riddler all decked out in his winter combat mask , very much a crazed terrorist rather than the question mark emblazoned green suited villain of the past. Meanwhile Colin Farrell was totally unrecognizable as Penguin, working away in the background of Carmine Falcone's (John Turturro) crime empire.

Aiding Batman, in a fashion, were Selina Kyle (Zoe Saldana) and the every reliable James Gordon (The ever reliable Jeffrey Wright) whilst Andy Serkis played Alfred in much the same way as Sean Pertwee did in the Gotham series.

The film, directed by Matt Reeves is the moodiest example of a screen Dark Knight to date, there's barely a chink of light to be seen, and i don't just mean due to the low lighting style. Parts of the film are fascinating, others exhilarating. However at three hours it is too long. The first hour went quite quickly but the half hour that followed sagged somewhat until the ante was upped once more as we arrived at a thrilling finale.

This is a million miles away from the planet chucking, universe hopping nonsense that Marvel subject us to every couple of months. It's grim, merciless and grounded in a grief stricken seedy reality echoing Film Noir rather than a Disney cartoon. I liked it.

Only thing I disagree on is Ben Afflecks casting in the Zach Snyder films. He suits the version of the character portrayed in those films.

[Demoncrat]

The Invisible Maniac (1990, Rif Coogan)

This was more like it, a ribald, sleazy piece of camp that knows it and flaunts it darling ahem. A man with ... some issues is humiliated at work. His reaction gets him a trip to the funny farm.
Losing faith with their methods, he decamps to turn his hand to education. This just kept getting betterer. The ridiculous plot. 25 year old teenagers .

[nosferatu42]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Only thing I disagree on is Ben Affleck's casting in the Zach Snyder films. He suits the version of the character portrayed in those films.

Right...

I'm off on one as you can probably tell if you read my Exorcist rant.

Batman as I see it depends on what you've read or what you want the character to be, it's the Superhero/ Star wars/ James Bond/ Dr Who crossover point where everybody wants them to be based on the shit they know, but when a character/ franchise has been going so long a new film inevitably pleases a few people but can't please everyone at once.

i watched the new Batman film the other day and also the newest James Bond film.

And before I say anything else I liked the brutality of Affleck (although it's not my batman i realise he has been this) but thought he was a non existent Bruce Wayne.

Same with Pattercake, there is no real depth to his characterisation, he never smiles, never quips, there's no emotion, that's kinda how i've always found Daniel Craig's Bond.

What stands out for Moore and Keaton is that they've got a personality and these are my favourite variations.

Maybe that's modern life, has anybody young got a personality these days beyond being an internet platform sheep?

Anyway I enjoyed the new batman up to a point, like every film these days it was too long, performances were good although like Joker echoing Taxi driver this seemed to echo seven a lot. I think i thought the new catwoman was the standout performance, but still prefer Pfeiffer.

I liked this, I like Dark knight but i really think being ultra realistic kills any of the enjoyment, yes they are good films but if i wanted to watch someone taking down a crime syndicate i'd watch the Untouchables.

Comic book characters are absurd, Batman looks like a twat dressed like a bat standing with ultra serious forensic dudes. If it was real life there would be at least half an hour of people ripping the shit out of him before he even got to the clues.

Nothing would ever get done.

I like Batman to be darker than Superman but by making everything ultra realistic it makes figures of imagination and childhood excitement dull.

How can you have Poison Ivy with twisting vines in a modern Batman film, Man bat, clayface, Mr freeze, Solomon Grundy?

I grew up with 70's Batman comics, Burtons was the closest to my vision on film , but i've said it before and will say it again, the Arkham console games are to me the best adaption, dark and moody, but the characters are recognisable yet still somehow all fit into the same world.

These heroes, wether Star Wars/ Batman/ James Bond are extensions of real life, caricatures, absurd exaggerations. By making the figures too real we are robbing them of their status, effect and identity.

I want Batman/ James Bond to be absurd, the reason i fell in love with these characters is because they weren't me, a flight of fancy, excitement, exaggeration.

It's like finding the most flexible, interesting, kung fu, pirate, Robin Hood, Sinbad mother****er then saying we want you to sit in a room and talk about fruit and moss.

..And by the way i liked No time to die, i thought it was Craig's best Bond film, It had the lair, gadgets, so that sold it, but i also thought the cinematography was interesting, and I thought the emotional attachments "ahem" made it interesting., never liked Craig though, what a miserable bastard...

Also what was that with having a car chase in batman almost entirely shot from inside the cars, i liked the chase and the visuals but a bit of car outside action would have added a bit of contrast and made the sequence much more exciting.