Films We Like

[Fiz]

I can't remember if we ever had a film discussion thread on this board but I will start one if there isn't. I have seen three films in the past two months, Mr Turner with Timothy Spall which was amazing. My eldest daughter doesn't care for history but the wonderful acting and cinematography had her total attention. You believed that Timothy Spall was the painter Turner. I thought he was a certainty for an Oscar nomination but he wasn't even nominated for a Golden Globe. We then saw The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing and that was brilliant. Keira Knightly is not my favourite actress but she was equally good. Today we went to see The Theory of Everything about Stephen and Jane Hawking. I had a special interest in this because our daughters used to dance in Cambridge and there were all sorts of rumours flying round the changing room about his second marriage. The film was so good but very difficult to watch. Eddie Redmayne and Emily Watson were excellent and I cried for most of the film because Such a brilliant man was trapped in such a treacherous disease. You could see the toll it took on Jane and their marriage too. Go and see it!

[Lisa O`Brien]

On Fiz`s recommendation on Twitter for The Theory of Everything today I have decided to go and see it. Not my usual genre.Don`t get me wrong ,I love all types of films and will pretty much watch anything,if it`s on the TV. [All time favourite is The Wizard of Oz]. However,to make the effort to go to the cinema,it`s almost always without exception a horror film. Having said that,the last film I saw was a real let down. It was the sequel to The Woman in Black,which starred Daniel Radcliffe and was excellent. The sequel didn`t star him and wasn`t. Hardly any jump out of your seat scary moments at all,except for the one excerpt they kept showing on the TV of the trailer of a nurse walking towards someone,then suddenly her face changes to be all scary. Yes,when I first watched that trailer on You Tube I nearly jumped out of my skin. So naturally,I was looking forward to seeing the whole film. No wonder Daniel Radcliffe didn`t want to be involved in the sequel. However, I thought the latest James Bond film,Skyfall was truly excellent,and one of the best,if not THE best Bond film I have ever seen. Hard to believe now,there were so many people who doubted Daniel Craig could pull it off.This was mainly due to his physical appearance. He is only 5FT 10 in tall,has blond hair and blue eyes,and in the books and in all previous Bond films,Bond has always been dark and much taller. But I personally,even after only 3 films,think Craig is now my favourite Bond. He has a gritty realism about him.He is very believable as a trained spy and therefore,a trained killer.Nothing too over the top with the womanising or corny retorts either. Can`t wait for Craig in the next instalment.

[Fiz]

I think the reason this film resonated much with me is three fold. Nobody ever thinks about putting one foot in front of the other, do they? You take it for granted, like breathing. A dear friend's husband was diagnosed with the same disease as Professor Hawking last April. There is still no treatment, let alone cure for MND. We all know only too well what poor A will have to endure and N and the children too. The other thing is ballet related. Our dcs and some of the adult dancers on this forum do really extraordinary and occasionally spectacular things with their bodies. They are their servants. People with MMD only know treachery from their bodies. It is a sobering reflection.

[Jan McNulty]

I saw Unbroken a couple of weeks ago and thought it showed the indomitable spirit of mankind very well.

 

The brutality made it not easy to watch at times but it was definitely worth seeing.

[alison]

I haven't been to see a film in the cinema for months - in fact, I can't remember what the last one I saw was. Most film releases just seem to pass me by these days And I got back from Swan Lake a little while ago and realised I'd managed to miss Film 2015 - AGAIN. That doesn't help, either

[Harwel]

Like you Fiz, I have seen The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything. I thoroughly enjoyed them both but I thought Theory was amazing. Such an incredible piece of acting by Eddie Redmayne. Just a terribly cruel disease which was highlighted so well. I am still thinking about it 2 weeks later.

[Katie]

I have recently watched 'The Dallas Buyers Club' which I think was released in 2013,I am a little slow at getting to the big movies, and the story didn't convince it would be my cup of tea.

  However after being told by so many people how good it was,I gave it go and it was definitely

worth it.

I didn't like the first part where the character of Ron Woodroof is depicted behaving in red neck fashion and I nearly stopped it but am very pleased I preserved. 

This was a strangely moving and thought provoking film and a very pleasant surprise.  I don't usually watch anything I have to think about, just light comedy, French films and sci fi, but Ron plight and his subsequent response were strangely heartening. Probably not for everyone but definitely interesting on a purely human level.

I have also watched 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and bought it.   Within around 20 minutes of it starting I knew I wanted to see it again.  I love Wes Anderson's sense of humour and the way his characters deliver the most outrageous things in such a dead pan way.  It is hilarious and moving and Ralph Fiennes as the concierge to end all concierges is brilliant. 

 

[Jacqueline]

I recently saw  A Kind of Loving on one of the Free View channels. The film is even older than I am and yet I have never seen it before. I have always liked Alan Bates and this film is a little gem of its genre. Not only is it interesting as a reflection of the times, clothes, architecture and so on but it is is such a neat little story about human behavior, much of which is still true today. The more we change, the more we stay the same! The big difference is the reaction Vic gets, when he goes to his family expecting sympathy after he walks out on his wife. His mother won't speak to him, his sister with whom he has always been close and his father, essentially tell him to pull himself together.I love what his father says about not living with the mother - in - law.  Vic has made his bed so he can lie on it. So that is pretty much what he does. 

Nowadays I suppose the marriage would just collapse at the first hurdle and nobody would think anything of it. They would fight it out on the Jeremy Kyle show, do the lie detector and then go their separate ways. 

Does anyone watch Judge Rinder by the way? Due to my work schedule, it is my current guilty pleasure. Some of the cases have to be heard to be believed. Some are quite sad but others are very funny. The things people fight over!

[meadowblythe]

Must confess that The Imitation Game didn't do it for me, but I have been a Turing enthusiast for years, and it seemed a little superficial.  I enjoyed it, but was expecting more.  However, it was worth going as my son,  who accompanied me, apologised on the way home for having taken the mickey out of me and Turing at the exhibition I took him to in Manchester, which celebrated the centenary of Turing's birth.  And said he wish he'd paid more attention, so not a wasted trip.

 

Saw Birdman at the weekend which is weird but I enjoyed it tremendously.  I would estimate the average age of the surprisingly small audience was well into the 50s - perhaps Michael Keaton doesn't resonate with the youth of today?

 

My favourite film of 2014 - Pride.

 

I am on a mission, now I have no children at home in term time, to see as many 15 certificate films as possible to celebrate my independence!

[ballettaxi]

I go through phases of managing to see lots of movies within a short space of time and then months go by without me getting the chance to see any.

 

Imitation Game - absolutely loved it, I have to admit I'd been aware of Turing and the team's achievements but not to the detail of the film (accepting that there was cinematic licence taken with the story), I've now tasked my hubby with finding me a book on Amazon with the 'actual' story.

 

Birdman - not decided yet if I liked it or not.  I agree meadowblythe that it's definitely 'weird', I did burst out laughing a few of the scenes, but I think it'll be a few days/weeks before I decide if I liked it or not.

 

One film that will be unlikely to appeal to many on the forum is American Sniper, which I saw at the weekend.  Not my normal type of filem, but went along with my hubby who really wanted to see this.  I have to say it is amazing, such a great film. Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle is outstanding and you can see as the film progresses the impact of what he see's/does while in Iraq on his personality and, as a result, his family.

 

As I wasn't keen to see the film, I didn't realise before going to the cinema that it was a true story - the footage at the end of the film just made me sit and think about everything I'd just watched.

 

Clint Eastwood directed and I do have to say I also loved Gran Torino that he directed and starred in from a while back.

 

I would definitely say to those who normally avoid this 'genre' to please give it a go - I was so moved by the portrayal I would thoroughly recommend.

[meadowblythe]

this is the definitive book on Turing:

 

http://www.turing.org.uk/book/

 

 

the website makes fascinating reading - I wonder how he would have fared under today's education system? 

 

I've also enjoyed this shorter introduction

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alan-Turing-Unlocking-Enigma-Kindle-ebook/dp/B00IDCH6YA/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1421832330&sr=1-2&keywords=turing

 

and it's free!!

[ballettaxi]

Thanks Meadowblythe - I've saved those links to my tablet and will enjoy those next week when I have the delights of 3 days of business travel.  Looking forward to my journey now!

BT

[Melody]

I'm reading the Andrew Hodges book on Alan Turing too at the moment, and it's really interesting. I loved the description of Turing and his friend Chris Morcom pretty much rechecking Einstein's work to make sure he'd got it right. I had no idea this is how schoolboys spent their lunchbreaks.

 

I do sort of wish that the producers of The Theory of Everything had stuck to their original plan for a 2015 release, because it's a bit of a shame that it's coming out at the same time as The Imitation Game and competing with it for the "brainy weirdo biopic" topic of conversation. Alan Turing's story is one that's a lot less familiar than Stephen Hawking's, and deserves to be told and noticed after all these decades of being hidden for one reason or other, whereas Stephen Hawking's story is already pretty well known.

 

I enjoyed The Imitation Game but had expected it, from the title, to spend more time on his artificial intelligence work and not quite as much on Enigma.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Melody

[JulieW]

After all these serious films that have been on for a while,I thought I might try "Into the Woods" with a friend this week while hubby away. Daughter (aged 20) loved it!

[Fiz]

I feel a bit on the fence about that, Julie. My musical theatre nut daughter liked it but she wasn't mad about it and she worships Stephen Sondheim.

[Dance*is*life]

Yes, Meadowblythe, I saw Pride and thought it was brilliant too.  I have to say that British actors and actresses are THE best.  Even when the subject is a bit kitchy, somehow they make the film real and touching, and a bit quirky, without its being at all kitchy.  I loved The 100 Foot Journey with Om Puri and Helen Mirren also in 2014 and Philomena with the wonderful Judy Dench (whom I first saw live in Twelfth Night some 52 years ago!) was another good film.  Philomena is a case in point, because the book is much more explicit and dark and the film glosses over the nasty bits and makes it more of a feel good movie, but Dame Judy pulls off her magic yet again and turns the film into something special. 

 

Notice that most of these films are based on true stories? I want to see Imitation Game too - it looks very good.

 

My favourite film of all time would have to be The Glenn Miller Story - I've lost count of the number of times I have watched the DVD.  Even writing about it here makes me want to go and watch it again - waiting for June Allyson to say "But that's it - that's the sound!"

[Fiz]

I think we might go and see Chronicle of Youth on Wednesday. I know one thing - I will cry my eyes out. I read the book one Armistice Day weekend as the first TV show started. We had a poppy covered duvet cover on the bed and I just couldn't stop crying.

[meadowblythe]

I have to say I think I was at the Pride March (the one at the end of the film) but I still didn't know the story of the people "up front".    

 

Two questions and a comment:

 

Does The Theory of Everything make you want to read A Brief History of Time?  

 

Has anyone seen Whiplash?

 

Regarding The Imitation Game - I have been pondering Melody's comment regarding AI, and I think that while she absolutely has a point, it is his "friend" in the front room that brings AI and the title of the film together. 

[Fiz]

I don't think I could take Whiplash. There was a long trailer before Theory and the violence and sadism in it just stunned us both.

[Harwel]

Actually, I did have a feeling that I may like to read 'A brief history of time' after the film. But that thought seems to have not been a strong one!

[Melody]

Well, the Turing bio seems to have turned into a maths textbook. Interesting but a bit of a challenge!

[meadowblythe]

Don't Try a Brief History of Time then!

 

On a distinctly downmarket note, I had my first Amazon video download experience at the weekend - the Alan Partridge film (Alpha somethingorother).  I laughed like a drain and my family were very glad we hadn't seen it at the cinema.

[Jacqueline]

Was wondering if anyone has been to see the film Florence Foster Jenkins, about the terrible soprano and starring Meryl Streep? I am tempted to go as it looks potentially entertaining but once I am home, I can't be bothered to go back out of an evening unless it is likely to be good. Should I wait for the DVD or avoid altogether?

[Fiz]

Yes,do see it. We went on Monday. I used to think Florence Foster Jenkins was an overindulged rich woman with zilch in the way of talent. I still think that but the film gives you much more to think about and I cried at the end and when I got home I ordered a newly published biography of her. Three days later, I am still thinking about her. Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant are excellent as are the whole cast.

[Jacqueline]

Thanks for that Fiz. I think I will give it a go.

[trog]

When I purchased my cd of "The Glory of the Human Voice" about 7 years ago, it was £3. I see the big river online store has them at £12.63 now - looks like I'm quids in

[Huddsballetmum]

After all these serious films that have been on for a while,I thought I might try "Into the Woods" with a friend this week while hubby away. Daughter (aged 20) loved it!

My daughter (16 next month) loved "Into the Woods".  I personally wanted to strangle every single character!!!

[Quintus]

For French speakers or those happy with subtitles, I'd heartily recommend 'La Famille Bélier', which is available on the Amazon Prime video service.  It's about a girl who acts as the bridge to the outside world for her deaf family of farmers, and who discovers she has a talent for singing, a gift they cannot appreciate and which pulls her away from that role. I had a good few belly laughs early on, and it becomes quite emotional towards the end.  I have to say I watch far more French, Belgian, German and Romanian films than Hollywood, as they seem to retain the art of focusing on characters rather than action.

[Jacqueline]

I seem to remember watching a number of French and Scandinavian films on television in the 80s and 90s, mostly on Channel 4 and BBC2. Some of them were absolutely brilliant, proper stories, characters and almost always in the best possible taste. We don't seem to get anything like that on tv nowadays, just wall to wall rubbish and endless repeats of the same old films. Anything good or unusual is on at some ungodly hour or not at all.

[alison]

Jacqueline, do you not watch BBC4?  They've had loads of European TV series over the last few years: I have at least 3 complete ones still sitting on my hard drive for me to watch when I get the time.

[Jacqueline]

Jacqueline, do you not watch BBC4?  They've had loads of European TV series over the last few years: I have at least 3 complete ones still sitting on my hard drive for me to watch when I get the time.

I do watch BBC4, mostly for the documentaries. I don't generally watch TV series, wherever they are from, as I prefer the compactness of a film. I know some of the series have been very well thought of but as you say, it is finding the time to watch them and I find it irritating when some of these series end inconclusively. I don't need all my stories to have a clearly defined ending and of course many films don't, but at least I haven't invested too many hours of my life watching something, that when it finally ends you are left thinking Huh? Particularly the ones left blatantly open for another series. When in doubt, string it out folks. Kerching.

Anyway, as I say, I just like films and I particularly remember the variety and quality of choice in previous years. Although at this remove, I may be looking back with rose tints.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Jacqueline

[alison]

Ah, sorry, I was forgetting the thread was about films, in which case you're right.  I think foreign-language films are still shown, but it's very difficult to detect them, especially when the titles are often in English and you can't see details of the actors, as is often the case in TV listings guide

.

But talking of films being repeated ad nauseam, I was very surprised to see that Film4 tonight is showing Tootsie.  It seems like years since I last saw that on TV.

[Huddsballetmum]

I watch "Room" this weekend which is a rather disturbing tale of a young girl abducted age 17 and kept in a shed for 7 years, during which time she has a child.  I expected it to be very depressing at the start and uplifting after she gets free, but found it oddly the other way round.  Very much worth the watch though.