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TST Film Review Thread

Joker was made pretty cheaply as well. Not sure what sort of payday Phillips and Pheonix got from that making over $1 billion. But obviously that films success and WBs need for an unnecessary sequel basically meant they could name their price to return ($20 million each apparently), plus I mean Lady Gaga wouldn't be cheap, and I believe they shot for quote a bit longer that really adds to the budget.
 
Looking at how many critical beatings it's getting, and having watched Joker again last night, I'm now anticipating it more than ever. Without spoilers, I can't understand the panning untill I've walked out of the auditorium. Better see this sooner rather than later then!

I liked the Scorsese/Taxi Driver style urban blight depicted in the original. It's one of the things that's interested me about the Batman series in general. There are numerous movies that seem to do a good job of depicting the vibe of what life in New York City was like as it approached, and eventually went bankrupt in the 1970's. From mafia movies to Dirty Harry, or even movies like Saturday night fever, Grand Tourino, and British based movies like Alfie and Harry Brown. Something interesting and endearing about movies that don't paint a coat of hopeful gloss over seedy underbellies that were, and remain, a reality for many people.

The Anton Furst depiction of Gotham in Burton's 2 Batman movies created an architecturally ugly and dark city consisting of greasy and steamy crime ridden alleyways. Although I take issue with wider shots being filmed in a clean and crisp looking Chicago, Nolan's movies featured dark underpasses and 'the narrows'. Cities where hope comes to die, and the original Joker did this well, and just about got away with you at least feeling some partial empathy towards a very mentally ill character, odds stacked firmly against him, living within such an environment.

But from what I've heard, all of that is swept away with the sequal, with it almost entirely taking place within Arkham Asylum, an environment which could have leant itself well for an interesting story itself. They could easily have left Joker where it was as a standalone, but I personally wanted to see more. I wanted to see more of this movement that he inspired. More of how embracing his delusions rather than fighting them developed the character into a psychotic evil crime lord. I wanted the empathy that started to drop away during the first movie as he descends deeper into depravity, to continue where it left off.

I guess I'll find out later!
 
Transformers One

One of major childhood heroes was Optimus Prime so seeing him die in the 1980s cartoon movie was quite heartbreaking. Managed to break my toy not long after as well.

Since then we've had the Michael Bay films which started off pretty good with the first one, but them changing the lore every film after really ruined things. I've still not seen all of The Last Knight. The live action reboot with Bumblebee was loads of fun, the best live action film for me. But then last years 90s set film was a return to cgi sludge sadly.

The animated Transformers One is an origin story for Optimus Prime and Megatron with them being friends who work as miners who can't transform.

The film is great, funny in parts, but handles a tricky plot of developing the characters especially in the third act when there's a lot going on.


Next up for me will be another animated film about robots in The Wild Robot. Hopefully see The Apprentice as well.
 
So from Transformers One to my second animated automonton movie of the week...

The Wild Robot, which is for some reason Dreamworks final in house animated film.

We follow the robot Roz who has become stranded in an uninhabited island, and ends up tasked with raising an orphaned gosling who needs to learn to eat, swim, and fly so they can migrate.

The seemingly simple plot really isn't doing the film justice. It's excellent, looks gorgeous, the voice over work is brilliant. Whilst the script is very intelligent, not shying away from how vicious the natural world can be whilst also not wasting a second of screen time with everything that gets set up in the first two acts paying off brilliantly in the third.
 
The Apprentice

Quite an interesting film this basically charting Donald Trump from the early 70s to the early 90s.

Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump is very good, doesn't fall into parody. Though of course by the end of the film he's very much became the Trump we know now.

Jeremy Strong is the films ace card though with his fantastic turn as Roy Cohn who is the 'master' to Trumps 'apprentice' as his lawyer/confidant/advisor/friend.

It's actually, to me, seems a very even handed and nuanced take on the man. Of course that means it doesn't really appeal to anyone except regular cinema goers.
 
John_P said:
The Apprentice

Quite an interesting film this basically charting Donald Trump from the early 70s to the early 90s.

Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump is very good, doesn't fall into parody. Though of course by the end of the film he's very much became the Trump we know now.

Jeremy Strong is the films ace card though with his fantastic turn as Roy Cohn who is the 'master' to Trumps 'apprentice' as his lawyer/confidant/advisor/friend.

It's actually, to me, seems a very even handed and nuanced take on the man. Of course that means it doesn't really appeal to anyone except regular cinema goers.
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This looks pretty decent, thanks. Will put it on my list of stuff to watch when available to stream 👍
 
John_P said:
The Apprentice

Quite an interesting film this basically charting Donald Trump from the early 70s to the early 90s.

Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump is very good, doesn't fall into parody. Though of course by the end of the film he's very much became the Trump we know now.

Jeremy Strong is the films ace card though with his fantastic turn as Roy Cohn who is the 'master' to Trumps 'apprentice' as his lawyer/confidant/advisor/friend.

It's actually, to me, seems a very even handed and nuanced take on the man. Of course that means it doesn't really appeal to anyone except regular cinema goers.
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That's interesting, considering that Trump himself seems to despise the film, but he certainly does have an over-inflated ego, to say the least.
 
Venom - The Last Dance

Probably the most meh it's alright comic book movie trilogy of all time. Skirts by with Tom Hardy and his charisma at playing Eddie Brock and venom.

Also as its on Netflix for not much longer I finally watched Brian and Charles which is a British film from 2022.

Inventor Brian builds a robot who calls himself Charles Petrescu.

It's a very low-fi movie, Charles is a washing machine with a manakin head.

Just an utterly charming film.
 
Terminator zero

While very different for the franchise, I thought it was ridiculously good. You have the fights, the explosions, people from the future, and of course; the Terminator. However, it does take a slower pace, but that is much appreciated for some incredible philosophical and character moments.

The series is set in Japan, before Judgement day. We mainly follow Malcom and his three kids. Malcom knows Judgement day from visions he has had in his dreams, and at his work has been creating an AI - Kokoro - in order to stop Skynet. Unfortunately, there has been a certain indestructible robotic assassin sent from the future to stop him, as well as a woman from the future to stop the Terminator.

Most of the series has two plots; one with Malcom trying to convince Kokoro that humanity is worth saving in the first place, and another plot from the kids experience of escaping the Terminator with the woman from the future and their house nanny.

Short review, but the problem is there isn’t many things I can say because everything is connected, and that would technically be spoiling it. I know Arnold not in it, and it has a completely different pace form the action focused movies we know and love, but I think this is seriously the best thing sconce Terminator 2 (if not the best!).

Great twists, characters and lots of violence (it’s still Terminator). Please go and watch it, it will surprise you!
 
First time I've been to an Unlimited Card Screening for a while but tonight I went to see Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.

Which is a documentary about the late great superman actor who became a massive campaigner after he was paralysed in a horse riding accident.

Focusing equally on his and the families life before and after it's an excellent documentary.

I'm sure someone has beat me to it, but if your watching it have a hanky ready as by the end you'll belive a man can cry.
 
One of the constants of my life of watching films has been Clint Eastwood. Seeing Dollars Trilogy and The Outlaw Josey Wales on regular rotation on the TV. As I got older I saw the Dirty Harry films. Then in university as part of my degree we did a module on his work as a director so I discovered things like Unforgiven, Pale Rider, and Play Misty For Me.

He's won multiple Oscars for his work and has continued to act and direct well into his 90s. Think personally his last 'great' film was Gran Torino that very much played on the archetype that he'd played throughout his career.

So with Juror #2 which is Clints final film in the directors chair which for me see him ending with a very fine picture.

Starring Nicholas Hoult as the Juror of the title, who in the middle of the trial realises he may of been the actual perpetrator of the crime and then the moral quandary that causes him and his family.

Eastwood has always been known as an actors director as he get across the board great performances from the whole cast, whilst also putting the audience in the position of Hoult, his family, the accused, the prosecution, and defence as you try and second guess what will happen.

Obviously as a court room drama and then jury deliberation it draws comparison to 12 Angry Men (highly reccomended by the way) and this stands up to scrutiny against that.

I know in America it's only getting something rubbish like 50 screens across the whole country, something that doesn't do Clint or this film justice. So I'd definitely reccomend this.
 
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Anora

A new film from Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Red Rocket) this one revolves around a eponymous stripper who quickly meets and marries the son of a wealthy Russian family and then the issues that causes when they found out.

Really enjoyed this, the first act which ends with the marriage that then somehow turns into farce and comedy when the new husbands minders turn up on the scene.

Not sure if Sean Baker has an interest in rollercoasters after a scene in Red Rocket featured the characters on the boardwalk bullet, this one features numerous scenes around Coney Island and the Cyclone.
 
Went to see Piece By Piece last night a documentary about Pharell Williams.

Seems straight forward until you see the trailer and realise it's completely animated as Lego (ala The Lego Movie).

It charts his rise from living in Virginia to becoming of the producers of the early noughts with The Neptunes, then his move into properly becoming a star himself with NERD and then as a solo artist.

Visually it's a stunning movie and really captures the way he describes his love of music. His story is definitely interesting enough to warrant the film, and it's a massive array of talking (Lego) heads talking about him as well.

One thing it puts across is just how varied and constant his output was, especially when the Neptunes were in their first period of success and everyone wanted to work with them.

Still find it a bit odd that the guy who wrote and performed something as raw and sharp as Rockstar is going to be immortalised as the 'happy' singer.

Piece By Piece GIF by Focus Features
 
It's the first week of November so obviously it's the right time to release a Christmas film.

Red One featuring an all star cast of Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, and JK Simmons as Santa Claus.

The long and short of it is Santa is kidnapped and Johnson who is the head of ELF and Santa's number 1 guy has to team up with Chris Evans who is very much in his Knives Out mode to find him and stop some nefarious scheme.

As an idea I thought it was a really good one, just the script really doesn't fire for me.

Still I'm sure it's got a good chance of becoming a bit of a festive favourite.
 
Paddington In Peru

I was quite late to the Paddington films ended up watching 1+2 back to back one evening during lock down. Paddington 2s greatness even ended up becoming a joke in the Nic Cage film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

So a number of years later a third instalment was announced, sadly Paul King who helmed 1+2 stepped away from the directors chair to take on the Wonka sequel (spoiler it was very good).

In a bigger loss Sally Hawkins hasn't returned for P3 replaced as Mrs Brown by Emily Mortimer. Which for me is the biggest minus of the film, Emily is good but I think Hawkins would've brought more especially with her history in the role.

Newcomers to the Paddington verse are Olivia Colman as a singing Nun, who runs the home for retired bears that Aunt Lucy has disappeared from and Antonio Banderas once again playing a boat captain after his similar turn in the last Indiana Jones movie.

The plot finds the Brown family searching the Amazon Rainforest in Peru looking for Aunt Lucy which could lead them to El Dorado itself.

It's a thin plot but they have fun with it, plenty of bits of slapstick and inspired running jokes and comedy bits.

When it was first announced as 'In Peru' I was definitely worried as it reminded me of all those old TV shows were for a film they sent them all off on holiday. And whilst this isn't the case I do think they lose something from removing the bear from his London home. It's not like they invert the first film with the browns being the fish (or bear) out of water this time.

Still it's delightful, just not as delightful as the first two.

IMG_20241008_122946.jpg
 
John_P said:
First time I've been to an Unlimited Card Screening for a while but tonight I went to see Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.

Which is a documentary about the late great superman actor who became a massive campaigner after he was paralysed in a horse riding accident.

Focusing equally on his and the families life before and after it's an excellent documentary.

I'm sure someone has beat me to it, but if your watching it have a hanky ready as by the end you'll belive a man can cry.
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Wow, just watched this. Incredibly moving (yes, I was moved to tears a couple of times). I really loved the Superman films as a kid too. Highly recommended. Thanks for the review/recommendation 👍
 
On the back of Super/Man thought I'd mention the documentary that arrived on Disney+ last week the man that Christopher Reeve said was the one who made Superman fly.

Music By John Williams

A very exhaustive career retrospective featuring an array of big name Hollywood actors and producers talking about John's impact on the film industry. Plus Chris Martin from Coldplay.

Think for me it's the bits with Williams himself now discussing his career and life I enjoyed the most.

Just amazing seeing this laying down his entire career, plenty of stuff you knew he'd done, but also loads of things he's played on or composed that I never knew he'd been involved in.

If you're a fan of his work it's well worth a watch.
 
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