In Theatres

[Samuel_Scott]

Ended up only seeing The Lady in the Van after traffic made me late to start with and the cinema was having issues with lighting.

Anyway, the viewing was very busy but I must have been the youngest there by a good 30 years! Very funny true story and a film worth checking out. The cast is superb, especially Dame Maggie Smith. 7/10

[Noor_Razzak]

Sam sometimes I think it's only you and I that are seeing movies in the theatre!

[Samuel_Scott]

Sam sometimes I think it's only you and I that are seeing movies in the theatre!

Quite possible

That is me done for a few weeks too as working away from Tuesday for three weeks.

[Noor_Razzak]

Room - 8/10. Terrific little indie film about a kidnapping victim whose been confined for the last 7 years in a small room prison by her captor, she has a 5 year old son that she looks after and whose father is the kidnapper. Brie Larson delivers a fantastic performance as does the little boy played by newcomer Jacob Tremblay. Slow burn, but entirely immersive.

[Samuel_Scott]

Krampus - Fun but a little disappointing. Not funny or scary enough. 2.5/5

Bridge of Spies - What you expect from a Spielberg Hanks team-up. A little overlong. 3.5/5

Got tickets for midnight showing of Star Wars tonight too.

[Noor_Razzak]

The Night Before 6/10 - not as funny as previous Seth Rogen outings but had some laughs, Michael Shannon was the clear standout here and the karaoke scene with the three guys was pure gold.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 9/10 - finally a good SW movie! It was great to see the old cast back, the new cast where excellent and had terrific chemistry, the feeling of nostalgia was in full force (pun intended), Kylo Ren was a solid villain, the look, production design, effects and score where top notch. Some minor plotting issues here and there were the only negative, I'll be seeing it again for sure on the big screen.

[Samuel_Scott]

Agree with you on Star Wars. As someone who is not big on the franchise in general, I found it really accessible and enjoyable. I think the casting decisions of John Boyega and Daisy Ridley were excellent. The 3D was well done too. One shot in particular of the Millennium Falcon taking up the whole screen was stunning.

Kind of annoyed with my only local cinema. They are only showing In the Heart of the Sea in 2D even though they have been showing the trailer in 3D. Going to have to skip this one and pick up the 3D Blu eventually. Will see Daddy's Home on Boxing Day instead.

[Noor_Razzak]

Will see Daddy's Home on Boxing Day instead.

Haven't heard much good things about this one... not sure if I'll go to the movies on Boxing Day, but I'm looking forward to The Hateful Eight and The Revenant, those two will be next on the viewing list.

[Samuel_Scott]

Daddy's Home - Not bad, but not great comedy. I preferred the Ferrell Wahlberg team up in The Other Guys but there were some good laughs to be had here despite it sagging in the middle. I can't decide between a 2.5 or a 3 out of 5. Screening was packed out too (it was the first showing).

[Noor_Razzak]

The Experimenter - interesting movie of an equally interesting subject matter, good overall performances but the trailers sold it as a different movie altogether more like a paranoid thriller which it wasn't. 6/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

The Revenant - what a beautiful and brutal film, stunningly shot and acted this tale of survival and revenge is a marathon, you'll feel exhausted after watching it but wholly satisfied. I loved every minute of this striking frontier tale. 10/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

The Hateful Eight (in Glorious 70mm) - got a chance to see this last night in 70mm projection, the 3 hour 8 minute roadshow version. The 70mm photography is indeed glorious, especially the exterior Wyoming winter scenes, once we move indoors (which is the majority of the film) into Minnie's Haberdashery the scope is mostly wasted in my opinion. Here's the good: Ennio Morricone's score is excellent even though it borrows from all his previous work, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sam Jackson are the two highlights of the film both of their performances are spectacular (the remaining supporting cast do a decent job but are unmatched to these two), the second half of the film after the intermission is the best. The bad: Michael Madsen was the weakest link in the cast - he basically phoned it in, the first half prior to the intermission was a hard slog - lots of set up and was very drawn out. The chapter that featured Zoe Bell totally took me out of the film, mostly due to her character. Otherwise I enjoyed it for the most part but it's not Tarantino's best. 6.5/10.

[Samuel_Scott]

The Revenant - what a beautiful and brutal film, stunningly shot and acted this tale of survival and revenge is a marathon, you'll feel exhausted after watching it but wholly satisfied. I loved every minute of this striking frontier tale. 10/10.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Just seen this and it was amazing. 5/5

If Leo gets shafted at the Oscars again, I will lose all faith in humanity.

[Noor_Razzak]

If Leo gets shafted at the Oscars again, I will lose all faith in humanity.

Yes it's about time Leo gets a statue, he's been delivering great performances for ages now.

[Noor_Razzak]

Anomalisa - wow... what a let down. I usually love Charlie Kaufman but boy was this film drawn out and uninteresting. The animation was the only thing going for it and I'm confused by its 94% rating on rottentomatoes... it was crushingly boring, depressing, featured unlikable characters, it was a single metaphor drawn out to 90 minutes, it would have made a great short film but there's not enough here for a feature. 2/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

The Big Short - A year ago if you told me that the director of the Anchorman movies would become an Oscar nominated director - i'd have told you to take a flying eff off the building... no chance. But here we are, and Adam McKay has been nominated for his film The Big Short (as well as for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Editing and Christian Bale also has a nod) and it's wholly deserved. The Big Short is nothing short of excellent. McKay took a dreary and depressing story of the collapse of the US housing market and made it entertaining. This film fires on all cylinders, sharp writing, sharp editing and terrific performances from all involved. 9/10.

[Samuel_Scott]

Ride Along 2 - Meh. Passed some time. Love Ice Cube, can't stand Kevin Hart. Olivia Munn was criminally under utilised. 5/10

Dirty Grandpa - Heard nothing but bad things, and went in with minimal expectations. Found it to be not that bad, especially every line Aubrey Plaza says. The first half was certainly superior before it tailed off though. 6/10

Also picked up tickets for Deadpool for Wednesday afternoon (first showing).

[Samuel_Scott]

Deadpool - I can see why some won't like it, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable and funny throughout. Loved the fourth wall breaks, the comments about various aspects of X-Men, and of course, the best Stan Lee cameo yet. The after credits scene was funny too. 8/10

[Noor_Razzak]

Deadpool - I can see why some won't like it, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable and funny throughout. Loved the fourth wall breaks, the comments about various aspects of X-Men, and of course, the best Stan Lee cameo yet. The after credits scene was funny too. 8/10

I've never really been a fan of Deadpool, but the trailers have looked promising and I'll be going to see it on Saturday.

[Noor_Razzak]

Deadpool - after the disastrous appearance of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox has finally redeemed the merc with a mouth. Ryan Reynolds is indeed born to play this role, he simply nails it. The comedy is sharp and the entire film was simply a joy to watch, so much fun and with great action. It's great that Fox took the risk and released a hard R-rated film, it wouldn't have worked otherwise (keep the kids at home for this one, I saw several angry parents walking out with their pre-teen kids... I guess they should have done more research about the movie before taking the kids!). I've never really been a fan of the character in the comics, I never really delved into his books or story lines but after this movie I'm eagerly anticipating the already green-lit sequel. 9/10.