errant
Striker
Agreed. The phoenician scheme seemed quite impenetrable when I watched, not sure it'll work better on the small screen but as a big fan I was quite disappointed.
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SMB Film Thread 2025
- Thread starter Fletch73
- Start date
- Status
Monty Pigeon
Striker
Uncut Gems (2019) 7/10
I've had this for years, made a couple of attempts to get into it, but wasn't in the mood. Can see why now. Perhaps the shoutiest most anxiety-inducing film ever. At least it's now ticked off the list.
Hackers (1995) 6/10
Shame about the screenplay, because in many ways this film was ahead of its time, with a cyberpunk, gender-bending aesthetic, and special effects that stand up remarkably well thirty years on. But the story is a complete mess.
Magnolia (1999) 9/10
Not watched it for 20 years. Love a good multi-stranded story, and this is one of the best.
I've had this for years, made a couple of attempts to get into it, but wasn't in the mood. Can see why now. Perhaps the shoutiest most anxiety-inducing film ever. At least it's now ticked off the list.
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Hackers (1995) 6/10
Shame about the screenplay, because in many ways this film was ahead of its time, with a cyberpunk, gender-bending aesthetic, and special effects that stand up remarkably well thirty years on. But the story is a complete mess.
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Magnolia (1999) 9/10
Not watched it for 20 years. Love a good multi-stranded story, and this is one of the best.
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Fletch73
Midfield
I remember turning this off after about 40 minutes as I felt on the verge of a panic-attack. Haven't bothered going back to it.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Scarface (1932)
Another absolute classic. It’s hard to describe why this is so good, but I’ll try.
The story is pretty basic - gangsters fight for control in various ‘sides’ of town. A bit like Edward G in Little Caesar, Paul Muni’s Tony isn’t a gang leader, but he’s so headstrong and focused that his boss is scared of him.
Muni is excellent. I’ve read that he’s been accused of overacting. I didn’t see that. I saw a portrayal of a deeply unhinged violence junkie with an implied incestuous relationship with his sister (Ann Dvorak). A loose cannon whose only weak spot is his sibling. Muni puts in a whirlwind performance, but in a controlled manner. He doesn’t fall into caricature often. His character is a product of the extreme lawlessness and violence of the era, and the writer and director paint him as a lunatic, but don’t really glorify or demonise him. He just ‘is’. There’s some fantastic moments of restrained subtlety, like when he agrees with his boss’ statement about being afraid of nothing, but in a way that says ‘yes you are. And I know you are. And you know that I know you are.’ It’s all done with careful vocal inflection and eye contact. He slips into much-parodied cackling and over the top nastiness at times, but like I’ve said before, you can’t really criticise the origins of cliches. If anything, he’s a more likeable character than EGR in Little Caesar, because there’s more vulnerability.
He’s also assisted (unlike EGR in LC) by some good support acting. George Raft and Boris Karloff appear, and they’re both solid. They’re enabled by a razor sharp script (for the early 30s) and far more confident editing than some of the bits in LC. I said after LC that it felt like EGR elevated everything else that seemed stagey and clumsy, but here Muni is aided by everything else. There’s a comic thread running through the bedlam via his PA who can’t ever get anyone’s name on the telephone. It’s a bizarre contrast when he’s doing that under hails of bullets in the cafe scene, but the payoff at the end is quite touching.
Generally there’s a level of sophistication in the whole film that’s years ahead of its time and still feels fresh today. The film opens with a three minute-plus long cut, with a camera moving inside a building, seeing the end of a party, and then witnessing a silhouetted figure gunning down a boss. It’s extremely good. There’s in-car shots; car chase shots filmed from the back of a vehicle, looking back at the action; a camera following two characters up the stairs from a side—on perspective; and a shot inside a shop that shows a car approach in the background and firing towards the camera, taking out the man in the foreground. The aforementioned assault on the cafe is great for many reasons, and even shows people being shot out of cars. The camera is often mobile, but even when it’s not, every angle is carefully constructed.
The cinematography is also very commendable - the scene where 7 silhouettes are lined up against a wall and gunned down is superb. There’s a general attempt to create interesting visual imagery, with the letter X featuring a lot, and shadows and weather are utilised very effectively. The violence on show is eye-opening for the era. Lives are worth nothing in these streets, and the filmmakers do an incredible job of showcasing that aggression. The camerawork in the action scenes is very good indeed.
The backstory of the film is fascinating - they had a lot of trouble with censors, and the writer was visited by some of Capone’s men and asked ‘are you sure you want to do this film?’ Or words to that effect. It was effectively buried in its true form for years due to censorship. I’m just glad it’s available now. Years ahead of its time, technically skilled, artistically impressive, and with good performances, it’s a memorable insight into the world and fears of interwar America.
Excellent. 9/10
Another absolute classic. It’s hard to describe why this is so good, but I’ll try.
The story is pretty basic - gangsters fight for control in various ‘sides’ of town. A bit like Edward G in Little Caesar, Paul Muni’s Tony isn’t a gang leader, but he’s so headstrong and focused that his boss is scared of him.
Muni is excellent. I’ve read that he’s been accused of overacting. I didn’t see that. I saw a portrayal of a deeply unhinged violence junkie with an implied incestuous relationship with his sister (Ann Dvorak). A loose cannon whose only weak spot is his sibling. Muni puts in a whirlwind performance, but in a controlled manner. He doesn’t fall into caricature often. His character is a product of the extreme lawlessness and violence of the era, and the writer and director paint him as a lunatic, but don’t really glorify or demonise him. He just ‘is’. There’s some fantastic moments of restrained subtlety, like when he agrees with his boss’ statement about being afraid of nothing, but in a way that says ‘yes you are. And I know you are. And you know that I know you are.’ It’s all done with careful vocal inflection and eye contact. He slips into much-parodied cackling and over the top nastiness at times, but like I’ve said before, you can’t really criticise the origins of cliches. If anything, he’s a more likeable character than EGR in Little Caesar, because there’s more vulnerability.
He’s also assisted (unlike EGR in LC) by some good support acting. George Raft and Boris Karloff appear, and they’re both solid. They’re enabled by a razor sharp script (for the early 30s) and far more confident editing than some of the bits in LC. I said after LC that it felt like EGR elevated everything else that seemed stagey and clumsy, but here Muni is aided by everything else. There’s a comic thread running through the bedlam via his PA who can’t ever get anyone’s name on the telephone. It’s a bizarre contrast when he’s doing that under hails of bullets in the cafe scene, but the payoff at the end is quite touching.
Generally there’s a level of sophistication in the whole film that’s years ahead of its time and still feels fresh today. The film opens with a three minute-plus long cut, with a camera moving inside a building, seeing the end of a party, and then witnessing a silhouetted figure gunning down a boss. It’s extremely good. There’s in-car shots; car chase shots filmed from the back of a vehicle, looking back at the action; a camera following two characters up the stairs from a side—on perspective; and a shot inside a shop that shows a car approach in the background and firing towards the camera, taking out the man in the foreground. The aforementioned assault on the cafe is great for many reasons, and even shows people being shot out of cars. The camera is often mobile, but even when it’s not, every angle is carefully constructed.
The cinematography is also very commendable - the scene where 7 silhouettes are lined up against a wall and gunned down is superb. There’s a general attempt to create interesting visual imagery, with the letter X featuring a lot, and shadows and weather are utilised very effectively. The violence on show is eye-opening for the era. Lives are worth nothing in these streets, and the filmmakers do an incredible job of showcasing that aggression. The camerawork in the action scenes is very good indeed.
The backstory of the film is fascinating - they had a lot of trouble with censors, and the writer was visited by some of Capone’s men and asked ‘are you sure you want to do this film?’ Or words to that effect. It was effectively buried in its true form for years due to censorship. I’m just glad it’s available now. Years ahead of its time, technically skilled, artistically impressive, and with good performances, it’s a memorable insight into the world and fears of interwar America.
Excellent. 9/10
⁹
A quick search on a shit website yielded:
Forum Cinemas Hexham, 12th Aug 6pm
Tyneside Cinema 31st July 2pm
A quick search on a shit website yielded:
Forum Cinemas Hexham, 12th Aug 6pm
Tyneside Cinema 31st July 2pm
NYMackem
Striker
Seconded for Uncut Gems. I had to have a Prozac once it was over.
Monty Pigeon
Striker
There's a plot twist that's supposed to be shocking, but my reaction was 'thank God for that'.
Lukas73
Striker
looks 'ok' will probably watch it if there's nowt else on....
thought Prey was decent.
So, shall we talk about Superman?.…
It’s not a superhero movie. It’s a live action superhero cartoon.
And that’s why it works
Wanted to hate it but just couldn’t.
Very annoyed at myself for actually getting into it.
It’s not a superhero movie. It’s a live action superhero cartoon.
And that’s why it works
Wanted to hate it but just couldn’t.
Very annoyed at myself for actually getting into it.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
So, shall we talk about Superman?.…
It’s not a superhero movie. It’s a live action superhero cartoon.
And that’s why it works
Wanted to hate it but just couldn’t.
Very annoyed at myself for actually getting into it.
Gunn knows his stuff when it comes to superhero comic films. I fully expect that I’ll enjoy it when I see it!
One of my oddest purchases was back in 2008. I bought a book about kaiju films called Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo by Stuart Galbraith IV. At the time, I could only get a second hand copy from the US Amazon site. It was described as being in very good condition.
When it arrived, I was horrified to find that the first page had been defaced by some bizarre comment, and two signatures underneath. It said (all in caps):
Elliot - you’re our favorite D.P. But we still liked you best when you played Mr Green Jeans on TV. Love,
(Then the two names)
Under the Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo text they’d written ‘sabotaging our movie’.
I didn’t have a clue who these people were. They clearly had nothing to do with this book or this author. I put it on the shelf in a huff and didn’t look at it again for about 10 years.
I picked it up randomly one day and read the names. James Gunn and Sean Gunn. I checked it against online examples of their autographs and they matched. They’d even drawn little cartoon heads of themselves next to their signatures.
All very strange. I’ve no idea why they’d sign this random book.
How old was the edition do you know? Was it from the Troma days?
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
As far as I can tell, it’s a 1998 First Edition.
I tried to find a DP - which I presume meant Director of Photography- called Elliot. The best match was a man called Elliot Davis. He is bald, and so is the tv character Mr Green Jeans. So I don’t know if it’s him, or someone else. I don’t know why he’d have a copy of that book and/or why they’d sign it!
Know what you're seeing, think you need to be fully charged to absorb this film, couldn't watch it if remotely tired cos you will be after watching it. But I think uncut Gems is an astonishing movie. Can't take your eyes off it and try to remember to breathe. Electrifying performance from Sandler. 9.5/10 for me.
So, shall we talk about Superman?.…
It’s not a superhero movie. It’s a live action superhero cartoon.
And that’s why it works
Wanted to hate it but just couldn’t.
Very annoyed at myself for actually getting into it.
Most of what I was unenthused about was because I'm not all that big a fan of Superman.
On the plus side: Good casting as Superman and I like that fact that his surname is an anagram of sweetcorn. Lois Lane was good, I quite liked the three other superheroes. Generally breezed along nicely. I liked how Jimmy Olsen was irresistible to women.
On the minus: bit too much angry speechifying at the end instead of characterisation. See also Guardians 3. "Justice Gang" is not as funny as they think it is. I don't know why Ma and Pa Kent had to be so simple as to be actually subnormal.
Especially bad, almost a deal-breaker: Krypto the Super Dog can go and fuck off
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I do know what you mean about m and Pa Kent mind
But as someone who has hated Marvels output since Endgame, this was a breath of fresh air. I actually thought I’d sleep through it
I do know what you mean about m and Pa Kent mind
But as someone who has hated Marvels output since Endgame, this was a breath of fresh air. I actually thought I’d sleep through it
Oh aye, it's better than almost anything that Marvel has done since 2019, and I recognise that people who like Superman will be well taken care of here
100% mate.
I see Fantastic Four is getting the usual “half decent b-tier marvel” style reviews.
Hoping to watch 40 Acres tomorrow.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Looking forward to F4, like.
The Multiverse saga has been a bit of a bust. Several reasons:
- the lack of a clear plan. Painfully obvious.
- plans changing in light of things like Majors getting the boot.
- losing the big hitters of Rogers and Stark.
- apathy and/or tonal inconsistency.
- audience fatigue.
- the lack of a major threat; everything feels underwhelming and like it’s bumbling along. There’s little focus in the way the films link together.
- saturating via the tv stuff and too much interdependency.
I got fed up halfway through phase 4.
I’ve since started to rewatch and reappraise them. There’s some good films amongst phases 4 and 5. A couple of duds, but things I didn’t like before, I’ve viewed more favourably since. It still doesn’t come near the Infinity saga stuff, but personally I feel like I misjudged a lot of the entries since 2000.
The Multiverse saga has been a bit of a bust. Several reasons:
- the lack of a clear plan. Painfully obvious.
- plans changing in light of things like Majors getting the boot.
- losing the big hitters of Rogers and Stark.
- apathy and/or tonal inconsistency.
- audience fatigue.
- the lack of a major threat; everything feels underwhelming and like it’s bumbling along. There’s little focus in the way the films link together.
- saturating via the tv stuff and too much interdependency.
I got fed up halfway through phase 4.
I’ve since started to rewatch and reappraise them. There’s some good films amongst phases 4 and 5. A couple of duds, but things I didn’t like before, I’ve viewed more favourably since. It still doesn’t come near the Infinity saga stuff, but personally I feel like I misjudged a lot of the entries since 2000.
Drifter
Winger
That feels like the kind of thing he’d reply to if you message him on twitter.
I've seen the trailer for Fantastic Four a few times now and simply can't get excited about it
Nolan's Odyssey, on the other hand...
Nolan's Odyssey, on the other hand...
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