Last Film You Watched

[Brendan Janus]

Excellent film !!

 

[dholliday]

Children of men 9/10 ?

Cypher 3/10 ?

How so?

Children of Men first has an astonishing concept, one that i'd think about a lot as a sci-fi nut anyway: what if no children are born anymore due to global infertility? Then it made me like Clive Owen, who I'm normally not keen on. His character is one of my favourite heroes now. It also had excellent characterisation (and expert acting) from everyone else, even Michael Caine was good. Realistic script, action and hugely-immersive camera work. Great audio, and an ending which makes you hope despite everything. Also check out London: they did an excellent job in imagining what it might look like if the next 20 years are going to a slow hell.

Also, it's more of a chase film rather than hardcore science fiction, but in this case it works pitch-perfectly. Breathtaking at times.


Cypher started off interesting, up to the point he is awake & aware during that presentation. After that it loses its thread and ends up being a cliched love story. Just very boring, unfortunately. Splice from the same director was also a 3/10 which started off well but then just went teenage-fantasy silly. His Cube is a classic, tho'.

I'm trying to learn German and was told watching some German films with subtitles might help me get an ear for the accent.
Yesterday I watched: Blood Glacier, Downfall, Cargo, and The Wave.

Got Goodbye Lenin on the list, can anyone else recommend any good ones? Any film buffs/Germans know any?

Goodbye Lenin is great! Just the right blend of comedy & drama.

How would you rate those you've seen, mate? Downfall is top 50 for me, a very strong 8/10. Cargo is my number 1 worst film of all time. A rare and fully-deserved 1/10. I've seen better DIY movies on youtube.

As Coylb says Das Boot is essential, and as with any non-English film also essential to watch in original language with subs.

I'd also recommend:

- Das Experiment - engaging exciting thriller...real riproaring stuff!
- Hell - thriller based on a sci-fi concept: what if the sun became too strong for normal living? it loses its way in the second half but is still decent
- Die Wand - another one loosely based on a sci-fi concept but is actually an existentialist soliloquy lament, meaning the main character talks a lot about whether she's alive and how she must be because she has the same memories as trees. Very nicely shot, and interesting for those learning German and into that kind of stuff...but potentially very boring too, depending on your mood.
- Herr Lehmann - authentic comedy drama with a really likeable turn by the main actor.
- 23 - not the Jim Carrey film: this German film is an accurate and true-story tale of Berlin hackers in the 80's selling information to the Soviets. Really good.
- Momo - they never synchronised the audio properly so even in its original German some actors' dubs are way off. But Momo herself is really her. This is from the same writer as Never-ending Story so has similar twee but fantastic elements. Watch with your kids
- Requiem - personally I prefer the horror elements of the American version The Exorcism of Emily Rose, but both are worth seeing, especially as both have outstanding actress performances as the poor girl. The German version of this true story is far more faithful, and thus potentially more interesting for you.

Got to be The Lives Of Others. One of the best films ever.

Have to respectfully disagree. 4/10 bore-off for me.

Germany are well known for making some top quality films, but has there ever been any decent German TV series? Seems it's all Scandi stuff, France also, but not much from around the rest of Europe.

You're right, there's been next to nothing interesting in telly-land for international audiences. Exception: Tatort. Police procedural. Very gritty and well-acted. They're all one-off stories and they're based all over Germany/Austria/Swiss with different main characters. I'd recommend as first watch: Die Ballade von Cenk und Valerie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2337411/

I'm sure you can find English subs online for it. It has a memorable main goodie & baddie...proper thrilling drama!

 

[ste d' indica]

Excellent film !!

"He's not a person, he's a Daily Mail reader."

 

[Brendan Janus]

"He's not a person, he's a Daily Mail reader."

LOL, report that to The National Heritage, after clubbing him to death !!

 

[Yorkie]

Goodbye Lenin is great! Just the right blend of comedy & drama.

How would you rate those you've seen, mate? Downfall is top 50 for me, a very strong 8/10. Cargo is my number 1 worst film of all time. A rare and fully-deserved 1/10. I've seen better DIY movies on youtube.

Cheers for the recommendations, will churn through them!
I didn't think cargo was 1/10 atrocious, reminded me of Prometheus - some cool shots and sci-fi porn but no substance and massive plot holes. Was filmed well in bits but the acting was a touch crap too. 5/10.
Blood Glacier: if you're after a fairly b movie horror but with some surprisingly good acting this is decent. Probably won't watch again though. 5.5/10

Downfall 8.5/10 - sht hot

The wave 6.5/10 - but contrived in bits. The plot and idea of it maybe better than the film itself. Would probably watch again though.

I'm quite reserved with my ratings btw, (both with panning and praising) so the 8.5 for downfall is v good by my standards.

 

[ste d' indica]

Cheers for the recommendations, will churn through them!
I didn't think cargo was 1/10 atrocious, reminded me of Prometheus - some cool shots and sci-fi porn but no substance and massive plot holes. Was filmed well in bits but the acting was a touch crap too. 5/10.
Blood Glacier: if you're after a fairly b movie horror but with some surprisingly good acting this is decent. Probably won't watch again though. 5.5/10

Downfall 8.5/10 - sht hot

The wave 6.5/10 - but contrived in bits. The plot and idea of it maybe better than the film itself. Would probably watch again though.

I'm quite reserved with my ratings btw, (both with panning and praising) so the 8.5 for downfall is v good by my standards.

The idea behind the Wave was really good, my problem was the shift in mindsets just didn't work over a film runtime, think it would have worked better as a TV series letting the dynamic play out over a longer time.

 

[Yorkie]

The idea behind the Wave was really good, my problem was the shift in mindsets just didn't work over a film runtime, think it would have worked better as a TV series letting the dynamic play out over a longer time.

YES! Kept thinking the kids just come across as lying/mental because they didn't show it growing organically enough, just the changes when it did.

 

[dholliday]

Cheers for the recommendations, will churn through them!
I didn't think cargo was 1/10 atrocious, reminded me of Prometheus - some cool shots and sci-fi porn but no substance and massive plot holes. Was filmed well in bits but the acting was a touch crap too. 5/10.
Blood Glacier: if you're after a fairly b movie horror but with some surprisingly good acting this is decent. Probably won't watch again though. 5.5/10

Downfall 8.5/10 - sht hot

The wave 6.5/10 - but contrived in bits. The plot and idea of it maybe better than the film itself. Would probably watch again though.

I'm quite reserved with my ratings btw, (both with panning and praising) so the 8.5 for downfall is v good by my standards.

Ta Yorkie...we've got Die Welle (The Wave) on DVD so gonna watch it at some point. Blutgletscher (Blood Glacier) is I think from the same director as that Berlin zombie film, forget what it's called now...was ok, so might watch that too.

If you enjoyed Der Untergang (Downfall) then you'll really like Das Boot

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

I wouldn't bother with 'Bridge of Spies' as I did last night.

For the 95 or so minutes I watched it for (Out of 141mins) absolutely nothing of any interest or intensity happens. I switched it off after trying to stay awake.

Directed by Spielberg, starring Hanks & written by the Coen brothers, too... You'd think that'd be enough - well, I'm afraid it just wasn't. Poor show.

2 poison-tipped brollies out of 5. And I'm being generous. Beats dropping a couple of nytols, I guess.

 

[millsy]

Watched Crimson Peak the other night.

A little bit spooky but not enough for me.

Gorgeous to look at (in true Guillermo del Toro style) but definitely lacking when it came to the story - in my opinion.

Totally agree, saw it today and was left scratching my head thinking what was the story.

Watched whiplash last night and OK it's a decent film but not my cup of tea.

 

[davids]

Watch some Fassbinder films.

Or Herzog. Stroszek is a good start.

 

[davids]

View attachment 14584

I'd put this top of your list mate. Most versions over here have been dubbed or subtitled , should be able to get the original off the likes of eBay.

It's an incredible film in its own right and rightly won may awards.

Dubbing should be against the law.

 

[jaycee]

watched it once as a teen about 20 years ago...Grace Jones was a very odd but beguiling fantasy. Great film in my memory, let us know how it holds up.

Was quite fun doc grace was as weird as I remembered,typical 80s comedy horror,wide shoulders,high hair and another movie watched in my vampire week so all good

 

[dholliday]

Watched whiplash last night and OK it's a decent film but not my cup of tea.

I've also got a feeling I won't enjoy Whiplash...feels like I've seen it already based on the trailer anyway.

Dubbing should be against the law.

This! You lose half of the intended acting performance. There's no way some pleb in a studio on the other side of the world can re-create the intensity of the original actor. The studio guy has no director, no setting and no stage for a start. Plus you lose a lot of cultural feeling by seeing a Japanese classic with American voices, for example.

Was quite fun doc grace was as weird as I remembered,typical 80s comedy horror,wide shoulders,high hair and another movie watched in my vampire week so all good

Nice...gonna find it again then. My personal favourite vampire films are Bramstoker's Dracula (the Coppola one), Interview with the Vampire (also read the books, this is a fine version of the first book) and Jude Law's The Wisdom of Crocodiles. Don't normally like the Jude but he's good in this.

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

Plus you lose a lot of cultural feeling by seeing a Japanese classic with American voices, for example.

Oh, I dunno - Them Godzilla films from when I were a nipper would lose some of their charm if I watched subtitled versions.