Ginko Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 (edited) So, what can I say about Baby Driver? Saw it earlier this week and I think it's one of the best films I've seen at the cinema. I loved everything about it. It's not just the awesome soundtrack but how it's implemented into the film and I came out wondering why more films don't do it. Perhaps they will now, obviously I'm talking about more mainstream films as opposed to musicals. It was so much fun and super slick and the choreography of everything from the car chases and shoot outs to the simple scene where he goes to get coffee is just wonderfully done. We all had massive grins on our faces throughout. The story was good and you knew right away that it wasn't taking itself totally seriously and that whilst the film is set in the real world, it's not meant to be totally grounded in reality. I thought the characters were pretty well developed despite not being very deep and the romance running through it was believable if a little fairytale, but who doesn't love a fairytale? The actors all did a good turn, particularly Jamie Foxx and the young lad playing Baby who I'd never seen in anything before. The characters were colourful and the dialogue was punchy. I think I read somewhere that they matched the lines to the rhythm of the music to some extent, which if they did is brilliant. The little extra details and flourishes really make this a special cinematic experience. I think my only very minor gripe with the story would be... Spoiler Spacey's tonal shift in the third act from serious, 'don't **** up with me or you'll end up dead in the trunk of a car', professional criminal mastermind to 'd'aww, you kids are cute, I'll give up my life to save you' anti-hero. I questioned it for a second but was along for the ride so it didn't bug me so much. Perhaps a little more backstory on his character earlier in the film that hinted at him being a bit of a softie for young love might have paved the way for his heroic actions towards the end of the film. If anything, the scene where he threatened Baby to do the job or Debra would wind up sleeping with the fishes made his ending more unbelievable. But aside from that? I was glued from start to finish and I came out of the cinema absolutely buzzing and it's rare that a film makes me feel that way. Seeing it again next week. Edited July 8, 2017 by Ginko 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 @Ginko I'd been considering going to see it this evening anyway and your review has persuaded me to go . . . don't know how much I'll like it, I don't like musicals and I don't much like car chases, but I'll give it a go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Just reading about Randy Quaid. He's gone a little bit/pretty bananas. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 The Infiltrator with Bryan Cranston was an easy Saturday night movie to watch. Based on true events of an undercover sting on Escobar's money laundering in the US led by customs in the eightees. Not mind-blowingly original but certainly worth a watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Due to the impeccable recommendations from this thread, I watched Train to Busan yesterday. I was not disappointed. One of the best Z films since Romero's Night, Dawn, and Day. Later that evening, while settling in with the missus, we watched another recommendation, a nice cheery Korean rom com, " I Saw the Devil". Good movie, but it wasn't very romantic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshVilla Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Just watched Wonderwoman Gal Gadot 10/10 perfection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chindie Posted July 9, 2017 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) Spider-Man: Homecoming. Marvel's traditional poster boy has literally come home. 5 films, 15 years, stumbles, false dawn's, 3 Spider-Men... Finally Marvel has him back. Sony fumbling again and again, Marvel's soaring box offices, culminating in a bizarre deal where Marvel can use the character and they make the movies and Sony pays and markets it. The latter of which they nearly **** up. We finally get Spider-Man in his own movie in the MCU. We open with the aftermath of the first Avengers movie, New York is in the middle of a clean up with Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes' crew clearing Chitari gear dumped over the city. Toomes discovers he has lost the contract, and subsequently realises the power inherent in the alien junk his team has been clearing. We skip forward to Civil War, with Peter Parker's view of his involvement of the fight against Cap, filmed on his phone. A taste of being an Avenger proves addictive and Peter desperately tries to show his worth to Tony Stark, carrying out little acts of heroism, whilst also coping with highschool... until one evening sees him so a very unusual bank robbery.... The obvious thing to do here is sneer. Moreso than other superhero movies, because Sony have been cynical with Spider-Man. They near ruined Spider-Man 3, forcing fan service and indulgences into a movie that barely could cope as was, and then spent 5 years rebooting it in a clear attempt to keep the rights. And here we are again, after the Garfield era failed. It stinks of cash in. It stinks of money grubbing. Even his appearance in Civil War could be seen as cynical. But... It's better than that. It takes Spider-Man and does something different with it. This isn't Raimi's Spider-Man. It certainly isn't Marc Webb's Garfield one. This is a smaller movie. It's less melodramatic, there is no grandstanding New Yorkers coming together, there's no global threat. This is literally is neighbour Spider-Man, and it features a proper Peter Parker. He's an average nerdy kid. His drama includes having a crush on the unattainable girl in school, he has a socially awkward hang on mate, and he has to balance being Spider-Man with being a highschool kid who has school trips and whatnot. Raimi didn't get that. Webb's got Spider-Man right but his Parker isn't quite there. This is more or less bang on across the board. T Holland is a great Spider-Man and a very good Parker. He's a slight tone down on his Parker's earnestness away from perfect. He plays both as characters on a learning curve. Spidey is still training to be a hero. Parker is still a child. Both are growing but both effect each others growth. He's fantastic and easily the best version of the character there has been. Keaton deserves plaudits as well. Marvel had often wasted villains. Keaton isn't. He doesn't get particularly more screen time than any other villain they've used and spat out, but Keaton grasps the role. He's not just cashing a cheque, and he's not just been CGI'd up. His best scene, and best scene arguably in the movie, is a conversation. A conversation without costumes, without CGI. But he manages to make it sinister, cold, and gripping. The Vulture of a dumb villain, this take and Keaton's efforts make him a genuinely good threat. Fears over this being an Iron Man film are unfounded. RDJ is a presence, the nature of the story means he is a background tone throughout, but he only has 5 or so scenes and perhaps 5 minutes on screen total. And again he's very good as Stark. And the supporting cast are great. They've made some changes with long established characters here but they largely work very well, and fill out Peter's world brilliantly. Including a few surprises... Action is great fun, well done and nails the very specific way Spider-Man fights and moves, even accepting he still isn't the finished article as a hero. The action is appropriately low key in many ways, the climactic moments are effectively Peter saving a handful of people, and his enemies are not world ending threats. There is no blue light into the sky here. Instead we get a few scuffles, some web flies, and Peter somewhat bumbles his way through. The humour is bang on as well. You will chuckle with it's highschool tropes and Peter's struggle with finding his feet in both his lives. And there are a few more mildly risqué gags that play up the teenage nature of things (there are 2 gags that aren't for younger children). Peter's friends Ned could grate on some but for me is pitched well as the awkward mate of a guy he's just discovered is a superhero. There's a running joke from the wider universe that leads to more than a few smirk moments and might have my favourite throwaway line in the franchise. It goes without saying it's a great looking movie. I've grown to like this suit and the design of Vulture is brilliant, nodding to the comic but bringing more threat and more grounding. The effects are flawless. This is the closest we've got to a true Spider-Man on film. It makes some choices that will ire fans, but this is better than anything gone before. Read nothing about it, there are some moments you can completely ruin and you shouldn't, and see it. There are 2 post credit scenes. 1 nods to the future and provides an epilogue to a character. The second is a gag, and it's a nice one but a divisive one that will raise a few groans. For fans of Spider-Man, I'd recommend keeping your eyes and ears open - there's are dozens of references to various bits of the Spidey mythos - Spoiler Not least of which Miles Morales, Scorpion, Prowler... Well worth your time. Although if you hated Spider-Man in Civil War, you'll despise this. Minor fanboy note Spoiler This film breaks the MCU timeline. The MCU takes place largely in real time (bar flashbacks). So Loki attacks New York in 2012 and Civil War happens in 2016. But... The start features an 8 year time jump from Avengers, which means it's in 2020, which means Civil War happens later and the whole series is 3 years ahead of itself. Edited July 9, 2017 by Chindie 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 I really loved the design of the Vulture. A lot of the characters in the MCU play up to the fact they look kinda silly, but they're super heroes / villains so as a viewer I think we just accept it really. In Vulture though you can see his character in his outfit, he and his are basically junkers, and you can see that. I really liked the final post credit scene. The use of Captain America all the way though was great, and that topped it off brilliantly I thought. There was at least one audible groan, though. The big surprise in the movie really did blind side me, and the story really stepped up from there. I hear from a lot of people that they're getting sick of comic book movies. Oddly, I'm becoming more invested in them now than ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 14 hours ago, snowychap said: Just reading about Randy Quaid. He's gone a little bit/pretty bananas. I do like to hear of actors going bonkers like this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 I watched Inferno last night. Awful. 3/10 WNB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 9, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 9, 2017 I saw Baby Driver last night and it was fantastic. Best film I've seen this year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 I saw Hacksaw Ridge last week and enjoyed it. Seemed like a pretty remarkable story, assuming it's true to real events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) Gravity. Edited July 9, 2017 by Rugeley Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 37 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said: Gravity. Eureka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Watched Tobe Hooper's (Poltergeist, Texas chainsaw massacre...) Lifeforce for the first time in ages. It really is one of the most amazingly terrible/brilliant films ever. The acting is hilariously over the top even thou there are some good actors. Fun fact: U get to see Patrick Stewart confined to a wheelchair although this time as a doctor and not a professor. The plot is bizarre, as someone on IMDB wrote: "the greatest naked space vampire zombies from Halley's Comet running amok in London end-of-the-world movie ever made" The entire movie is a big WTF?! But in a fun way. Very much a so bad it's good movie. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 A cure for wellness.. it's a bit odd isn't it. Definitely a what the hell film 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Captain Fantastic. pretty much fantastic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Girl on the train for some reason I thought it had reviewed really well, it hadn't and I can see why, decent ending but a bit of a boring mess at the start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 2 hours ago, mikeyp102 said: A cure for wellness.. it's a bit odd isn't it. Definitely a what the hell film Decent movie, could have been very good if it was 45 minutes shorter and an editor had told the director when he was just being self-indulgent. I was quite enjoying it, but I thought it came off the rails pretty badly at the end. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooligan Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 The Train (1964) A decent enough war film i watched a few nights back .Worth a look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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