Rate the Last Film you Watched

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

The Personal History of David Copperfield

dir. Armando Iannucci

The Personal History of David Copperfield is a period comedy film based on the Charles Dickens book and directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci (I'm Alan Partridge, Veep, The Death of Stalin).  It stars Dev Patel as Copperfield, with a supporting cast of fantastic actors including Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Paul Whitehouse and my personal favourite Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi.  They all play characters in this film, no one feels like a real person, but here that's not a bad thing.  That's how Dickens wrote his books, everyone was over the top to emphasise their characteristics.  Except for Patel as Copperfield.  He is brilliant in this film, giving a real grounded performance despite all of the madness around him and helping the audience to accept the madness.  

The plot is the story of David Copperfield's life, as told by Copperfield.  He goes from riches to rags to riches to rags to riches again, and I really felt all of the highs and lows along with him.  The script is peppy and feels modern, despite being based on Victorian literature, and the set design is full of colour, the opposite of what you think of when you think of this period in history.  The direction is also lively and inventive, some surreal imagery and fourth-wall breaking kept me engaged for the duration.

It's also very funny, which is a good thing since it's a comedy.  I particularly loved Benedict Wong as Mr. Wickfield, an accountant always looking for a drink, and Tilda Swinton as Betsey Trotwood, Copperfield's aunt, who is constantly plagued by people riding donkeys through her garden and can't stand it.  I would recommend this film to anyone who wants a laugh, wants to see some madcap characters with brilliant dialogue, and who wants a bit of heart and warmth from their main character.  8/10

 

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

The Death of Stalin

dir. Armando Iannucci

After watching The Personal History of David Copperfield I was in the mood to check out Iannucci's previous film, The Death of Stalin.  This is much more like his previous work, The Thick of It, Veep and In The Loop, in that it is a darkly comic political satire, bordering on farce.  The film is about the events following the death of Stalin (surprise, surprise) among the higher-ups of the Soviet Central Committee, all of their plotting, scheming and maneuvering in order to cement their positions or else save their skin.

Like Copperfield, Iannucci has assembled a stellar cast for this film, Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, Paul Whitehouse and Jason Isaacs are all fantastic, but I loved the performance of Simon Russell Beale as Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's head of the secret police.  He really conveys a dangerous, slimy, untrustworthy shit of a human in a way that makes you hate him and root against him, urging the other assholes to conspire against him.  I call them assholes, because these were all historically shitty people, but like Jojo Rabbit, it turns them into the punchline without diminishing the effects of the abominable actions.

The film is solidly directed, but not as flashy as Copperfield.  It's more like his TV show, The Thick of It, especially the scenes of the committee arguing and throwing insults around which all looked like they were shot on handheld cameras.  I'm not too hot on Russian history, but apart from the obviously fictional scenes behind closed doors, all of the big events seem to follow what really happened; Stalin's death, his successor and what happened to them etc.  I feel that in a film like this, all of the over the top shenanigans really help to underline the seriousness of what's actually happening.  

A fantastic, at times horrifying farce about the chaos caused by a vacuum at the top of the ladder 8/10

 

 

[Con 5,703]

@LimeGreenLegend damn, daniel,

back to back 8/10's !!! You are on a cinematic roll!!

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Just now, Con said:

back to back 8/10's !!! You are on a cinematic roll!!

I just watched them, Armando Iannucci is the one on a roll  

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

La Jetée 

dir. Chris Marker

La Jetée is one of the most unique films I've ever seen.  A 1962 French sci-fi film, this was the inspiration for Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys.  It tells the story of a man living underground after an apocalyptic event who is obsessed with an image from his pre-war childhood of a man dying at the end of a jetty, and a woman's face.  He is experimented on, sent back in time to try and bring back food and medical supplies, but instead he finds the woman from his childhood and starts a relationship with her.

What makes this unique is that the entire film is presented as a series of still images, with the only dialogue coming from a narrator.  There is one shot which has movement, it is very brief and very subtle, but it's incredibly powerful.  I loved this film, and despite the lack of motion, it's full of emotion.  The scenes where he is being experimented on are creepy as hell, the sound design is incredible, throbbing pulses and whispered voices, and the scene where he takes the woman to a museum to look at the stuffed animals is incredibly touching, and the cinematography is beautiful, the underground world of the future full of deep threatening shadows, and the peaceful past washed with light.  If you've seen 12 Monkeys then you know the twist, but even though I did I still found it touching.

One of the best time travel films I've ever seen, and it does it all in 25 minutes, La Jetée is truly worth your time.  9/10

 

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Uncut Gems

dir. Josh and Benny Safdie

Uncut Gems is an intense drama about a New York jeweller, played by Adam Sandler, who is trying to hustle his way out of debt by getting into more debt and making lots of bad decisions, mostly involving his gambling addiction.  This is, by a looooooooooooooooong fucking way, Sandlers best ever performance.  This film has actually washed the taste of Jack & Jill out of my mouth.  He is just this pure ball of anxiety and anger and stress and I loved every second he was on screen.  This is a stressful film throughout, everyone is loud and shouts and swears and everything he does feels like a life or death situation.

The script, written by the Safdie brothers, who also directed, is fantastic.  Sandler's character, Howard Ratner, is an asshole, but is written in a way in which we root for him to make a good decision and not fuck everything up for once.  This is helped by Sandler's natural charisma, which shows even in the shittiest films he does.  This film just shows what he is capable of when he actually puts some effort in, and I hope he continues to do films like this in the future.  

I don't have much else to say, the direction was solid, with some interesting shots, the supporting cast were all great, especially Kevin Garnett, the basketball player, who plays himself.  The electronic soundtrack really fit the feel of the film and gave a frantic pace to the proceedings.  But most of all I am shocked that I loved an Adam Sandler film this much, and now I understand why people felt he was snubbed for not getting an Oscar nomination.  9/10

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

I'm not gonna write another review of this, you can just go back a couple of pages to find my original, but I just saw The Lighthouse on the big screen, and I honestly think that that cemented it as my favourite film of all time.  I'm gonna revise my score and give it an 11/10

@Con the sound was immense coming through a proper sound system, the constant cawing of the gulls pecked at me, and the dreaded foghorn felt like it was rumbling my soul.  I've seen this film four times now and I'm just as shocked and awed by it as the first time, even more so seeing it on a big screen.

@DavidCore89 here's that mermaid vag you were so interested in  

 

[Con 5,703]

[DavidCore89 7,402]

[Con 5,703]

1 minute ago, DavidCore89 said:

[djw180 6,836]

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

If you like Kevin Smith films, and I do, then you'll probably enjoy it but it's not his best. The first 20 minutes or so had the feel of a TV comdey sketch that didn't know how to end. Other than Kevin Smith himself the cast (almost all his usual crowd) really show their age, maybe that was part of the point he was making about re-booting old films, I don't know. Matt Damon and Ben Aflfeck looked particularly old, but again maybe that is how they actually look in real life and in this did not have the same make up they would normally have for a film. And Jason Mewes sounded like he was breaking a new pair of false teeth in.Anyway I get the point he was making about lack of originality in Hollywood but if you hadn't seen every other Kevin Smith film you probably wouldn't understand most of it.

An enjoyable 90 mins for a £5 rental, but glad I didn't pay the cinema price for this. 6/10.

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Now that the BAFTAs have concluded, most of the major award shows before the Oscars have happened, and I have revised predictions.  @Con you wanna make a wager  

Best Picture
1917

Best Director
Sam Mendes, 1917

Best Actress
Renée Zellweger, Judy

Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix., Joker

Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Adapted Screenplay
Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi)

Best Original Screenplay
Parasite (Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han)

Best Cinematography
1917 (Roger Deakins)

Best Costume Design
Little Women

Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari (Andrew Buckland & Michael McCusker)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell

Best Original Score
Joker

Best Original Song
(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman, Elton John & Bernie Taupin

Best Production Design
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Sound Editing
1917

Best Sound Mixing
1917

Best Visual Effects
1917

Best Animated Feature
Klaus

Best Animated Short
Hair Love

Best Documentary Feature
For Sama

Best Documentary Short
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

Best International Feature
Parasite (South Korea)

Best Live Action Short
The Neighbors’ Window

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Saw Parasite at the cinema yesterday, incredible film in every aspect.  I have a proper review of it a page or so back, but if you're put off by subtitles, don't be, or you'll miss out on one of the best films of the last few years.

[Con 5,703]

@LimeGreenLegend  here are my picks....So the person with less correct has to watch and review a film chosen by the winner???? 

 

Best Picture
Joker

Best Director
Sam Mendes, 1917

Best Actress
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Best Supporting Actress
Florence Pugh

Best Supporting Actor
Anthony Hopkins

Best Adapted Screenplay
Little Women

Best Original Screenplay
Parasite (Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han)

Best Cinematography
1917 (Roger Deakins)

Best Costume Design
JoJo Rabbit

Best Film Editing
Joker

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell

Best Original Score
1917

Best Original Song
Stand Up

Best Production Design
Parasite

Best Sound Editing
1917

Best Sound Mixing
1917

Best Visual Effects
1917

Best Animated Feature
Missing Link

Best Animated Short
Memorable

Best Documentary Feature
The Cave

Best Documentary Short
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

Best International Feature
Parasite (South Korea)

Best Live Action Short
Brotherhood

Edited February 9, 2020 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

@Con yup, whoever has the most correct guesses picks a film for the loser to watch and review.  If I win you're gonna be watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show  

We only agree on 10 out of 24, so a lot to discuss  

Edited February 9, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[Con 5,703]

1 hour ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

We only agree on 10 out of 24, so a lot to discuss  

Some of them I disagreed just to make it interesting. I do think Joker was best pic...I get why 1917 will win but overall Joker told a more poignant and better story.

[Sinister 2,578]

Jesus, for your sake I hope you win @Con

[Con 5,703]

23 minutes ago, Sinister said:

Jesus, for your sake I hope you win @Con

I lost. ?

 

[DavidCore89 7,402]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Not really into dinosaurs, ugly fuckers, although this movie was better than I expected.

6/10.

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

The Big Sleep

dir. Howard Hawks

The Big Sleep is a 1948 film noir based on the novel by Raymond Chandler, starring Humphrey Bogart as the legendary private dick Philip Marlowe.  I'm going to see Casablanca next week at the cinema, my first time seeing it, and I realised that I have never seen a Bogart film before.  I picked this one because I've already read, and loved, the book, and I really like this hard-boiled type of detective story.  I can see now why this is considered one of the best films of the genre.  Bogart is amazing as Marlowe.  He plays him as really laid back, but he's always watching, and he's really funny, pretty much every line of is that dry type of comeback.  Speaking of dialogue, that's another really strong point for this film.  No one speaks like a real person, but the script is so good that you don't mind that.  I really loved the scenes between Bogart and Lauren Bacall.  They had incredible chemistry together (they were married a year earlier, and stayed together until his death in 1957), and when they were both on screen I couldn't take my eyes off of them.  Bacall is also fantastic in this, playing Vivian Rutledge, the daughter of the man who hires Marlowe to investigate a blackmail case.

Getting on to the plot, and this is probably the weakest aspect of the film.  It gets pretty hard to follow pretty quickly.  The initial blackmail case leads on to another thing which leads on to something else, and none of the characters are really trustworthy, so you don't know who's telling the truth.  Honestly, I had to find a plot summary about halfway through just to catch myself up.  However, that didn't really take away from the film, because the case isn't really what you're watching this for.  You're watching it for the performances.  Like I already said, Bogart and Bacall make this film.  Bogart is in every scene, since we're seeing events from his viewpoint, and he carries the nearly two hour film effortlessly.  Plus he's just cool as fuck.

I highly recommend this film, you'll spend some time with the coolest detective ever put on screen, you'll bathe in Lauren Bacall's beauty, and you'll get a good taste of the seedy underbelly of LA in the 40s. 8/10

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Little Shop of Horrors Director's Cut

dir. Frank Oz

Little Shop of Horror's is one of my favourite musicals of all time.  I've seen it dozens of time.  But I hadn't seen the director's cut until now.  I'll get to the differences in a second after a brief review of the film generally.  The film is about a loser schmuck of a flower shop assistant (Rick Moranis) who's in love with a ditzy sweet-hearted girl (Ellen Greene) who is dating a psychopathic dentist (Steve Martin).  He brings huge success to the shop when he displays the strange and unusual plant (Voiced by Levi Stubbs, yes the plant talks) he's been growing, but the only problem is that the plant doesn't eat plant food.  It feeds on blood, "must be blood, must be fresh".  The story is a remake of a 60s b-movie horror film of the same name, which was one of Jack Nicholson's first film, but adds a whole soundtrack of brilliant songs, Suddenly Seymour, Skid Row, and Mean Green Mother from Outer Space are my personal favourites.

The cast are all fantastic, Moranis and Greene are such a pure and innocent lead duo who you really want to get together, Steve Martin gives one of his best performance as the sadistic dentist, and there are hilarious cameos from the likes of John Candy and Bill Murray.  The set design makes the film feel like a stage musical, enhancing the dreamlike quality that genre has, and like I've already said, every song is great.  

Now, in the theatrical version of the film our hero defeats the plant, marries his girl and the film ends with them in a new house away from skid row.  It's a feel good ending in the classic sense.  The director's cut, which was what Frank Oz wanted to release but the studio made him film a happy ending, has the plant kill the girl, then the hero, then it and a load of other plants destroy the world in an extended Godzilla like sequence where they trash New York.  Usually I'm all for killing everyone at the end of a film, but here it just doesn't feel right.  The two leads dead?  They are too sweet and innocent to die like that, especially in a musical.  It also drags on too long, the destruction sequence.  It's about ten minutes long and doesn't really add anything to the story, I was just waiting for it to end at that point.

For me, the theatrical version is the best version of this film, showing that sometimes studio interference helps.  Maybe because that's the version I grew up watching, but I just love the characters too much to want to see them get eaten by a giant plant from outer space.  I still loved the preceding hour and ten minutes, but that end just didn't sit right with me.  If the theatrical cut is a 9/10 then I'd have to give the director's cut 7/10.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[Con 5,703]

JoJo Rabbit (2019)

The Awesome: Interesting surface concept for a film but making it work is a whole other thing and this really works. Loved the message I got out of this, which was, "See things through your own eyes and not the eyes or ears of others". Scarlet Johansson has a supporting role but she knocks it out of the park. I really bought into her character as a mother and loved that it is not revealed until much later exactly what she was up to in her personal life was she selling her body to support JoJo??? Oh man, I'm not telling you!!! She wasn't just a mother, she is also a father to JoJo and she was also a hero in many ways. The scenes with her and JoJo (Roman Griffin Davis) were some of the most touching and really made me embrace that wild mother and son dynamic. The kid that plays JoJo, Roman, this is his first acting role and he was amazing. top notch acting by that kid as he really sold the film and I hope he gets more work in the future. This film's main message truly can apply today, almost as if time and history has not taught us anything. Right now children all over America are being indoctrinated into hating people they don't even know and are being taught to hate things that will benefit their future. I loved the conflict of the second act when JoJo and his mother seem to be heading to a serious confrontation and that tension was tremendous---- take the dinner scene when she is very happy that the war could be ending, as the allies are taking back control of Italy and France and JoJo asks his mother if she hates her own country that much that she is happy about their defeat in Italy by the allies and she tells him it's the war she hates not her country as the war is pointless and should end and he tells her,  "Oh the war will end, we will crush our enemies into dust and when they are destroyed, we shall use their graves as toilets." Those scenes are some of the best and the payoff from all of them will eventually fully explode in your chest. I also really loved the time setting this story is happening in...what I mean is I felt that the filmmaker did a great job not revealing the exact timeline the film was following as I could not tell how far into the war we were in until Rosie and JoJo have that dinner scene, and even then you still don't know how far it is from the war ending, which makes the last act more compelling once we see what is occurring. I thought that was great to set the film exactly at a key point in the real life event, you know, imagine being all pumped up to join the fight and suddenly there is no fight. What then? What happened to those people that were bloodthirsty and suddenly had to go back to human thoughts. I appreciated the film giving me that mental floor exercise as imagined the confusion one would have at that very moment, the average person had no idea the progression of the war. 

The Good: The set design is fantastic as everything seems so bright and washed in natural light but it really contrasts with the nature of what is occurring in the film's universe, the n*zis taking over the land. The costumes were great and only Inglorious Basterds did it better in that department. I really enjoyed watching this indoctrination and made me think of the film we just watched Four Lions, where there is also indoctrination that has led to the actions of the characters. Watching JoJo admire a man whose truths he really doesn't know yet and how the society shielded the truth from the youth was pretty numbing. The way Hitler is portrayed works because he is presented as a figment of JoJo's imagination and is why we don't get the darkside Hitler. I enjoyed the character of Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) because I felt he played the type of German that is rarely represented in these n*zi films. No doubt there were Germans that did not agree with the new chancellor and had no choice but to follow orders or be punished as traitors and that is why I gave Klenzendorf a pass for not exposing certain things he slowly becomes suspicious about and at first I thought his behavior contradicted his position but the more i thought about the things he says throughout the film, I realized, he was just following orders and would not have been signed up for the war assignments if he had a choice. The film worked within it's own context and is why the quirky-Hitler portrayal works as a figment of the kid's imagination and he can be hilarious at times. Can't leave out the show stealer, Yorki (Archie Yates) who plays JoJo's most trusted friend and school mate...he is hilarious and only has a few lines but comes across larger than life. Costumes and production design were at their best here as it seemed to accurately portray the time and place they are existing in. 

The Bad: I thought they made the n*zis too much of caricatures while everyone else were more like real people and that at times took me out of the more serious tonal moments in the film. We get profound moments completely ruined by silly n*zi characters in the next scene and you dont get to reflect on the subtext of the previous scene.  I have read criticisms regarding the fact that none of the actual atrocities are not even mentioned or hinted at, "how can you make a n*zi based film and not mention the holocaust or show some things.' Now that could be a fair point except that we are seeing the story from a boy's point of view and I doubt children could just walk into a Concentration Camp and watch the atrocities. I think those critics miss how not seeing the atrocities adds to JoJo's ignorance to what he is supporting. What would JoJo feel if he saw a bunch of children his age regardless of race, being shot in the head and thrown in holes in the ground? Him meeting Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) is the atrocity!!!! The girl has it rough. So to those critics I say, you want to watch a film where we follow a child through the n*zi occupation where he sees everything, then go watch the absolutely spine-wrenching Russian film Come and See (1985), you'll get plenty of atrocity footage in that one. 

The Ugly: The trailer did nothing to make me want to watch this originally because it seemed so contrived and unfunny and I also thought it was going to be a semi-musical with characters dancing to Madonna tracks in a film set in 1945. Personally the biggest flaws I felt were in some of the moments that could have used some explanation and they were kind of major moments. Without spoiling anything, there is one HUGE moment that was hauntingly amazing but then what proceeds seemed odd to me, now perhaps its because its a different culture and era but it just seemed far-fetched...and the adults all seemed to treat it like it was no big deal. I don't know why but I had a feeling of something being disjointed in the third act as we approach the conclusion...

Spoiler:

 

What im speaking about is after Rosie's death, JoJo seems to just begin living on his own. I doubt any advanced society would allow an orphan to live on his own. Rosie gets hung because she is a traitor and no one knew she had a son? They were clearly spying on her, how could they not know about JoJo ?? Again I felt that part of the story needed some explanation as I could not help but ask, how is JoJo paying the bills, buying food, why isn't he being bullied or harassed for being a son of a traitor? The film turns into Home Alone without the burglars. Why after Rosie being discovered, wasn't the home split open or burned to the ground? I know during war kids get abandoned and orphaned but I found JoJo living alone kind of unreal and I could be wrong but just didn't seem realistic. 

 

Final Verdict...3/5... Having recently watched the film Four Lions where we follow an incompetent Jihadist around and even begin to feel empathy for him, I did not expect to have a similar fun and new experience ever again but surprisingly that is exactly what JoJo Rabbit presented me. Deep down inside I should have hated this kid the moment he opens his mouth in the film because he is spewing that bullsh*t but I quickly realized it isn't all his fault— even with a mother that is trying to get him to see a different angle on things— he still doesn't compromise because he is looking up to the only man he now admires, but you hope he changes perspective since he doesn't have what it takes to become a famous and iconic n*zi, cause JoJo is a f*cking train wreck, the kid is a f*ck-up, and if the war didn't kill him, surely he would have killed himself before the age of 18.  An innocent child that becomes a product of his environment...in reality, we are all JoJo in one way or another. Most of us do things only because they were normalized to us by the adults in our lives. Sometimes I think I benefited more from not growing up with a father or male role model as who knows what twisted ideals I would possess. To tell you the truth the film left me with profound sadness as I realized that while n*zi Germany no longer exists, there are plenty of youths being indoctrinated into hate and destruction of those different from themselves. I think the message of this film is aimed at all the adults and especially parents around the world, don't lie to your kids because once they begin to see the world through their own eyes and experiences, you may look like the biggest liar in the world to them and lose your credibility as someone truthful, fair, and honest in their lives...and isn't that how you demonstrate true love in the first place? And did you know honesty and truthfulness are not the same thing? Well now you do. There is a great message at the heart of this film and its up to adults to pass that message on to the children. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

16 hours ago, Con said:

Can't leave out the show stealer, Yorki (Archie Yates) who plays JoJo's most trusted friend and school mate...he is hilarious and only has a few lines but comes across larger than life.

I loved him too. His and Jojo's friendship was so sweet, I loved how they hugged whenever they saw each other.  You should check out some interviews with him and Roman, they're just as sweet in real life, would like to see them do more films together.

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Doctor Sleep

dir. Mike Flanagan

Doctor Sleep, written and directed by Mike Flanagan from the Stephen King novel, is a sequel to Kubrick's The Shining, starring Ewan McGregor as a grown up Danny Torrance who is haunted by the ghosts of his past and, like his father, has a real serious drinking problem.  This film reminded me of Psycho 2.  That was released in 1983, 23 years after the legendary Hitchcock masterpiece, and when I watched it I was expecting it to be shit.  Turns out Psycho 2 was a great film, it didn't just copy and paste the story from the original, it was respectful to the status of the original, and it actually added something substantial to the lore of the story.  This is the same with Doctor Sleep.

Danny has grown up trying to hide his shine, drinking his pain away.  But one day he forms a mental link with a young girl, Abra (Kyliegh Curran) who can shine as much as he can, and they become mind pen-pals.  But she has also gained the attention of the True Knot gang, led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson).  These dudes are basically vampires, but instead of blood they feed on the "steam" released by people who shine when they are in extreme pain and dying.  This is strongest in children, so they roam the country abducting, torturing and killing children, which we see in a pretty harrowing scene with "baseball kid".  When they sense Abra, they sense a huge food source that could sustain them for decades, so they set out to get her.  This is where Dan steps in to help her fight them, culminating in a great finale at the abandoned Overlook Hotel.

What I liked about this film is that it doesn't really get going until about an hour in.  Instead we spend time with Danny, Abra, and the True Knot, getting to know them and actually care about them.  These aren't just disposable sexy teens in a slasher flick.  The performances from all three leads are all great, especially McGregor.  He has this look on his face that absolutely sells the pain and trauma that he's been dealing with since he was five years old.  The directing is pretty good.  It does borrow a lot of shots and edits from The Shining, and no one looks good when they try to copy Kubrick, but on the whole it's solid.  There are a couple of dreamlike shots that I really liked, Rose the Hat soaring above the clouds searching for Abra especially.  The music also borrows a lot of cues from the original soundtrack, but the original score is good on its own.  I would like to watch this again in a double bill with The Shining and get the full story. 

I found this surprisingly good, entertaining throughout, and a worthy sequel to a legendary film.  I'd recommend it to anyone, especially horror fans (@Con ) 8/10

 

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[pete_95973 4,380]

10 hours ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

Doctor Sleep

dir. Mike Flanagan

Doctor Sleep, written and directed by Mike Flanagan from the Stephen King novel, is a sequel to Kubrick's The Shining, starring Ewan McGregor as a grown up Danny Torrance who is haunted by the ghosts of his past and, like his father, has a real serious drinking problem.  This film reminded me of Psycho 2.  That was released in 1983, 23 years after the legendary Hitchcock masterpiece, and when I watched it I was expecting it to be shit.  Turns out Psycho 2 was a great film, it didn't just copy and paste the story from the original, it was respectful to the status of the original, and it actually added something substantial to the lore of the story.  This is the same with Doctor Sleep.

Danny has grown up trying to hide his shine, drinking his pain away.  But one day he forms a mental link with a young girl, Abra (Kyliegh Curran) who can shine as much as he can, and they become mind pen-pals.  But she has also gained the attention of the True Knot gang, led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson).  These dudes are basically vampires, but instead of blood they feed on the "steam" released by people who shine when they are in extreme pain and dying.  This is strongest in children, so they roam the country abducting, torturing and killing children, which we see in a pretty harrowing scene with "baseball kid".  When they sense Abra, they sense a huge food source that could sustain them for decades, so they set out to get her.  This is where Dan steps in to help her fight them, culminating in a great finale at the abandoned Overlook Hotel.

What I liked about this film is that it doesn't really get going until about an hour in.  Instead we spend time with Danny, Abra, and the True Knot, getting to know them and actually care about them.  These aren't just disposable sexy teens in a slasher flick.  The performances from all three leads are all great, especially McGregor.  He has this look on his face that absolutely sells the pain and trauma that he's been dealing with since he was five years old.  The directing is pretty good.  It does borrow a lot of shots and edits from The Shining, and no one looks good when they try to copy Kubrick, but on the whole it's solid.  There are a couple of dreamlike shots that I really liked, Rose the Hat soaring above the clouds searching for Abra especially.  The music also borrows a lot of cues from the original soundtrack, but the original score is good on its own.  I would like to watch this again in a double bill with The Shining and get the full story. 

I found this surprisingly good, entertaining throughout, and a worthy sequel to a legendary film.  I'd recommend it to anyone, especially horror fans (@Con ) 8/10

 

 

I went in not expecting much and enjoyed it as well. Good write up Lime.