Category: Film

I nearly wanted to cancel this trip to the cinema. I was happy enough at home, wanting to play a PS5 game, and thought “I’m not interested enough in this film”. I’d booked the tickets ass something to do but I had already had adventures outside earlier in the day. At the moment I decided to cancel it was ninety minutes before the showing and it turns out cancelling is ok more than two hours before the showing so the only way to not go was to not go. I would have felt bad doing that so I went. The tide was very low as I drove along the esplanade. On the way home after the movie the tide was still low so I wonder if it was a special low tide? Ah, now it’s nearly full moon and so I think that means the tides are greater than normal, something I’ll look into.

After watching this film I rated it on IMDb. There is a system to the rating system and I explained that many years ago within this communication. I gave this film 4/10. But, the film was getting quite rave reviews, so I read a bit about it afterwards. I don’t think this changed my enjoyment of the film. To be honest I just don’t really care for horror films. Also, it turns out this film was made by some YouTuber person and that makes this the second film by an YouTuber I’ve seen recently, the other one was also a stupid horror type movie. The thing about horror movies is they portray events that can’t happen. There’s always some jump in the narrative that means supernatural stuff exists and that’s pure bullshit. Thinking about it now it’s curious that I love science fiction even though a lot of that can’t happen. I will spend some time thinking about this to create a position.

The theatre was quite full and that was nice although it was also irritating as there was more noise and movement than normal. I think I prefer the quieter screenings. Also, the audience skewed young but maybe that’s the YouTube thing happening. Maybe I’m the strange one for being this old and watching these films. Backrooms was the only film of vague interest I could even be bothered to watch – although I couldn’t really. Let’s cover the film:

Two losers get lost in a surreal world. This would have been interesting if it turned out to be quite mundane but I think the ending implication was that this world was some supernatural existence that was being investigated by a “dodgy” local company. There was quite a lot that wasn’t explained which I guess is to be expected with horror films and if there was an explanation then it wouldn’t be as scary. I don’t know why the extra-dimensional building needed to be “scary”. I think you could create an unsettling world without the chase and violence aspects of this film. Maybe I’m just old and grumpy, I don’t know. Right, the film wasn’t interesting, I didn’t care for either of the characters and some aspects seemed quite laboured. Film review done.

I was quite interested in the behaviour of some people in front of me. They were young. I’m not sure they were watching the film they seemed more interested in doing whatever else. One of this group of four was recording quite a lot of the film. This person was using their phone and sending lots of messages while also using an old style digital camera to film some parts of the film. I don’t think they were going to pirate the video because they couldn’t hold their camera still and it was only facing the screen most of the time, not all of it. I couldn’t figure out what this person was doing. While curious I was also aware that I’m an old fart and any intervention or questioning by me would be seen as a grumpy man interfering rather than the genuine curiosity I had. I found it strange behaviour worth of a film itself.

I took a trip to the cinema just to go really. The selection of things to see wasn’t great otherwise I would have gone a few times this week. Part of me wants to watch The Magic Faraway Tree but I think I’ll choose a late showing to see that if I decide to go. Fuze was the only other film I considered worth seeing and that’s mostly because I knew nothing about it. There was a “secret screaming” show on Tuesday and I considered going to that but I’m not really a fan of horror films and it’d be even worse as I had no idea what this one could be.

On the way to the cinema I noticed that the tide was halfway and the river looked pretty as it was coloured red by the reflection of clouds in the east that were coloured that way because of the setting sun. It took me a while to figure out why the river was reddish and it turns out it’s a double reflection. After watching the film I rated it on IMDb and there’s a whole communication about how the rating system works.

I quite enjoyed this film. It was really nice to see London being represented for all the good things about London. I would say this is a classic heist movie. However, I didn’t really like the characters who were doing the robbery so that made the ending slightly harder for me. Perhaps the film managed to get the complexity of criminals presented quite well. I also thought there was too much double crossing going on to the point of the complexity of the plan made the outcome unlikely. Plans never work and there were just too many extra parts to this movie that didn’t quite make sense. However, it’s worth a watch and was quite good fun.

I went to the Cineworld Cinema at Rochester to see this film. Apparently I went to an early preview because after watching the film I couldn’t rate it on IMDb and that’s a whole thing for me. I used to only rate films I saw at the cinema. But, over the last year I’ve been watching some terrible films on Amazon Prime and realised after wasting an hour that I’d seen them before. I’m a sucker for cheap science fiction films! So, now I try to rate everything I watch, cinema, films, series etc. I do this so I can see if I’ve watched a thing before and save wasting time and being disappointed (again). For instance I recently subjected myself to the Melania “film”. It was utter shit. Absolute shit. I will probably remember that I ‘ve watched that film but some cheap sci-fi films look the same. I did look at the level of the river when I drove to the cinema and it was definitely low.

After watching the film I eventually managed to rate it on IMDb. I have a communication from the dark, distant past where I explain how the rating system works. I rated this film 8/10. I’m not sure I’d pay to watch it again but I would watch it if it turned up in a streaming service.

This film is based on a book by Andy Weir. They’re the same person who wrote The Martian. I’ve read Project Hail Mary and I really enjoyed it. I know Andy Weir tries to make things as scientifically plausible as possible. They try to keep the tech within current knowledge and they specifically did that with The Martian. With this film, as it involves exotic matter from space, there are allowances made for the fuelling system. Also, there are going to be radiation shielding issues, but that’s minor really.

I thought this film was great. It stuck close to the book and that’s important as the book was well constructed and thought out. Possibly the film is a touch long, it was over two hours. But I know there are compromises to editing a film and it’s more likely this film got that correct. All the important stuff was there. All the major issues that I could remember from the book were present in the film. I guess I’d rather have a film with a coherent story that’s over two hours rather than something that’s a special effects promotion that adds little – think super hero films.

There was just enough humour in this movie. I laughed out loud a few times and that’s a good sign. There’s a certain humanity to the causes of humour, I think if you can make things funny then you’ve got a good view into the human condition.

I went to an early evening showing of The Bride! at Cineworld, Rochester. It’s a film that had been on my radar because it looked so colourful and designed. The river level was low upon entry to the cinema. After watching the film I rated it on IMDb, there’s an old communication that explains the rating system here. I rated The Bride! as 6/10.

I really enjoyed this film. I liked the visuals, the sound, the acting, all of it. I don’t think I’d watch it again though and that is why this gets a “6” from me. Sometimes when I watch a film I’m constantly thinking about what to write on this site. This process improves my watching experience and allows me to interact with the film rather than be a passive watcher. While watching The Bride! it took quite a way into the film for me to even think about what to write here. That means I was engaged and enjoying myself. I wasn’t trying to work out criticisms or trying to remember specific parts of the film to comment on here. This is genuinely a good film.

I liked the pro-women stance taken by the movie. The way it empowers the female cast at tells their story was really good, it’s well written. The only thing that bothered me, and I’m still not sure what it was there for, was Mary Shelley. The story didn’t need her. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s vital but I think it works without that. Jess Buckley was fantastic in this and her characterisation was amazing. Overall, a great film.

I took a trip to the cinema. Cineworld are showing films that are nominated for awards so last night they showed Sinners which came out sometime last year but I missed it then. I think the tide was low as I drove along the promenade, I’m not really sure as it was quite dark, I think this was the latest I have been to the cinema for a while. On the way out I couldn’t really see either, oh well. I rated this film on IMDb and you should read this communication before ranting about the rating.

I really enjoyed this film. It took a surprise turn for me about half way through as I knew very little about the story. Lets take some things in order. First, I hadn’t realised the twins were played by the same person. This shows just what an amazing job they did filming the main characters. The differences between the characterisation and how they looked was amazing. The filming was perfect. I though they were just two actors who looked similar! I will admit that I’m not great at faces and struggle to describe people, maybe that helped the filmmaker.

The music in the film was stunning. The use of the blues in what felt like a historically accurate world was amazing. You could feel the music. The scene where the club opens and the music transitions through various genres, blending the visuals and sounds, left my jaw on the floor. It was so clever, so well filmed, so natural. It fitted exactly. It was impressive.

The film was a period piece and it felt utterly accurate. Now, I have no idea really what it was like in the 1930s. All I can say is that nothing removed me from that headspace. Even an electric guitarist turning up and wazzing away felt right. I was really impressed. Look, it was a great film.

Vampires. The surprise addition to what I thought was going to be a revenge film. At some point there was a strange scene involving someone turning up at a farmstead who was steaming – I hadn’t realised they were burning in the sun – and then they increase the clan membership by two. Some indigenous people show up and are refused access to the vampire because racism.

My general understanding of vampires used to be, before The Lost Boys, that they hated the cross and sunlight, also garlic. The Lost Boys opened me to the idea that a vampire needs to be invited into a building to be able to enter a home. To me, this is a “new” thing introduced by The Lost Boys. I hadn’t realised it was part of a longer lasting lore about vampires and it appeared in this film. It turns out that the whole invite thing is a very old tradition with vampires. Some older traditions have them impervious to sunlight! This film used garlic, invites, sunlight and the classic stake through the heart tropes. It was executed really well.

Some people left the cinema at the very start of the credits. I waited. I’m not sure why but I wasn’t in a massive rush to get anywhere. I’m glad I waited. There was a mid-credits scene that very nicely brought the whole story back together. It was a really nice touch.