Film Thread (What have you been watching?)

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I followed up Shaun of the Dead with Hot Fuzz yesterday. One of my all time favourite films. Watch it a few times every year and never get bored!

I visited Wells for the first time earlier this year and was very excited to visit the marketplace where that epic gunfight took place! Beautiful city and one of my favourite places in the country.

[Futtocks]

6 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I followed up Shaun of the Dead with Hot Fuzz yesterday. One of my all time favourite films. Watch it a few times every year and never get bored!

I visited Wells for the first time earlier this year and was very excited to visit the marketplace where that epic gunfight took place! Beautiful city and one of my favourite places in the country.

The editing and cinematography in Hot Fuzz makes it worth watching alone. That everything else is done at such a high level too is amazing, from the casting to the dialogue to the cast.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

3 hours ago, Futtocks said:

The editing and cinematography in Hot Fuzz makes it worth watching alone. That everything else is done at such a high level too is amazing, from the casting to the dialogue to the cast.

Currently watching The World's End. I've only seen this one a couple of times compared to the dozens of time for the other two, and while I do still like this I do think it is quite inferior to the others. 

[Futtocks]

25 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Currently watching The World's End. I've only seen this one a couple of times compared to the dozens of time for the other two, and while I do still like this I do think it is quite inferior to the others. 

It is the weakest link in the Cornetto Trilogy by a fair distance.

[Futtocks]

Goodbye, Don Glees!, aka Gubbai, Don Gurîzu! (2021)
Three teenage boys reunite after a time apart and set out to prove that they did not cause the forest fire they are blamed for.
They get lost in the woods and discover more about each other's lives while they were separated. It does deliver quite a hard emotional kick in the guts as the story unfolds.

 

[Father Gascoigne]

On 01/11/2025 at 09:43, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Currently watching The World's End. I've only seen this one a couple of times compared to the dozens of time for the other two, and while I do still like this I do think it is quite inferior to the others. 

Definitely the weakest, yeah. Though from an esoteric/symbolic point of view it has a lot going for it, making repeat viewings more interesting for me personally as there's plenty there to unpack. 

I really liked Hot Fuzz as a teen first time I saw it. After watching it again a few years back, I liked it a lot less. Unlike Shaun of the Dead, which I think is the best of the lot by far, once you know the core mystery in Hot Fuzz, it loses its edge on repeat viewings. There are certainly scenes that remain funny on repeat viewings, but I realised on that second viewing that the plot and mystery relating to the town did much of the legwork the first time around.

[Futtocks]

3 hours ago, Father Gascoigne said:

Definitely the weakest, yeah. Though from an esoteric/symbolic point of view it has a lot going for it, making repeat viewings more interesting for me personally as there's plenty there to unpack. 

I really liked Hot Fuzz as a teen first time I saw it. After watching it again a few years back, I liked it a lot less. Unlike Shaun of the Dead, which I think is the best of the lot by far, once you know the core mystery in Hot Fuzz, it loses its edge on repeat viewings. There are certainly scenes that remain funny on repeat viewings, but I realised on that second viewing that the plot and mystery relating to the town did much of the legwork the first time around.

I went the other way, initially preferring SotD, but being won round by the cast, the characters and the technical strengths of HF, especially the editing.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

53 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

I went the other way, initially preferring SotD, but being won round by the cast, the characters and the technical strengths of HF, especially the editing.

Same, I preferred Shaun of the Dead for quite a while but Hot Fuzz stands out for me now. A fantastic script full of little Easter eggs. Really quirky and unique characters that are well acted. A well developed fictional universe that really draws you in. Essentially just a really absorbing film which is already a classic of British cinema.

[gingerjon]

Amazon Prime has Kenny Dalglish - from the bloke who did Senna, Maradona and Amy Winehouse.

I don't think it has much crossover appeal but if you remember football from the 80s (and earlier) it is absorbing - and, obviously, the Heysel and Hillsborough sections pack a wallop.

[Futtocks]

Poupelle of Chimney Town (2020) aka Eiga Entotsumachi no Puperu
Imaginative, vivid and full of action. Although the drawing style of the human characters isn’t my favourite, it grew on me quickly enough.

A factory town is covered by chimney smoke, and as the townspeople haven’t see the sky in centuries, they no longer believe that stars exist. A chimney sweep and a friendly monster named Poupelle decide to prove that stars are real.

 

 

[Futtocks]

Penguin Highway (2018)

A budding boy genius is befriended by a quirky young woman who works at the dental clinic. Suddenly, penguins start appearing as if from nowhere in his small town. He sets off to investigate and runs into a girl from his school, who is investigating a mysterios watery orb that is hovering in the woods. Are the phenomena connected?

It gets pretty strange, but the movie is held together by well-written male and female leads and their complex relationship.

 

[Father Gascoigne]

One Battle After Another

100% worth watching at least once, and yet still disappointed in it because I can't see myself watching it again. Sean Penn as Lockjaw steals the show. DiCaprio's talents were somewhat wasted on this role. 

[Red Willow]

why does Superman fly with is arms out?

Just watching Superman returns from 2006 and they have all done it.

[Futtocks]

Today I watched the 1980 adaptation of Ursula K.LeGuin’s novel The Lathe of Heaven.

Low-budget but a worthy effort, it follows the book’s main conceit as much as it can. I rather liked it, but probably wouldn’t watch it a second time.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Nuremberg (2025)

Saw this at a Light cinema for half price.

The story of the relationship between the high ranking Nazis facing trial, their captors and the trial itself.

Powerful and moving.

[Father Gascoigne]

Bugonia was decent. Good thriller, and well worth a one-time watch. 

Edited November 28 by Father Gascoigne

[Futtocks]

Today I learned that the Chinese actress Maggie Cheung, whose career spans airheaded Jackie Chan girlfriend roles, martial arts majesty in 'Hero' and also the kind of VERY SERIOUS stuff that gets awards panels all hot and bothered, grew up in... Bromley.

Edited December 2 by Futtocks

[Futtocks]

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

A tale about what it means to be a mother, centred around a semi-immortal girl's experiences. The landscapes and cityscapes are epic and stunning, but the characters are drawn in a rather bland and samey style.