TST Film Review Thread

[Thameslink Rail]

Thing is I like going to the cinema but I find a lot of the films released at this time of the year are quite heavy going and my local cinema often doesn't allow unaccompanied adults to watch kids films so I don't really know what to watch.

 

[Slackjawedyokel]

I watched Life of Chuck on Netflix last week and really enjoyed it. No spoilers, but as an adaptation of a Stephen King short story, I thought it had some of the heart of the much loved earlier adaptations of short stories by him; Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me. It was also directed by Mike Flanagan of Midnight Mass and Doctor Sleep fame. It is a horror film, but not one of THOSE horror films!

For anyone wondering what to watch, I really enjoy Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s film podcast “Kermode and Mayo’s Take”. Although it only started up a few years ago, they’ve previously done pretty much the same show on BBC radio for decades and between them have a great depth of knowledge and warmth.

Simon Mayo also writes fiction books, sometimes for kids. A few years back, I read his “Itch” books to my eldest child. A while later they were (somewhat improbably) adapted into an opera, which I took my eldest down to London to see, and we ended up having a chat with Mr Mayo, who was in the audience. Last summer, the opera was restaged and by this point I’d read the books to my younger child so I took him to see it too. We were sat in the row directly behind Simon Mayo and his family, and we again had a chat with Simon after the performance. I’m happy to say that he’s the same warm and engaging character in real life as he sounds on podcasts and radio, and both times he took the time to chat to my children directly rather than just to me.

 

[John_P]

Yeah I love Kermode and Mayos Take, and the previous BBC iteration. Would also recommend Kermode On Film which is mostly interviews taken from his Kermode 3D interview show, but usually get one a month with him and film maker Jack Howard talking film.

Also listen to The Empire Film Podcast which is also good.

Thing is I like going to the cinema but I find a lot of the films released at this time of the year are quite heavy going and my local cinema often doesn't allow unaccompanied adults to watch kids films so I don't really know what to watch.

Never heard of that before, I went to see Little Amelie the other week and was the only person in the cinema which was bliss.

Speaking of serious heavy going films I'd forgotten to mention I went to see The Secret Agent set in 1970s Brazil starring Wagner Moura. Which I thought was great and inventive, especially with such a serious topic about that period of Brazilian history.