"admiral Benson"
"Really? That's my name!"

g.man wrote:

The sequel is GOD TIER.

This. Mad Max 2 is magnificent. A VHS darling.

Early Boyle was so good. Best export my hometown has had.

Without Remorse, Tom Clancy M.B Jordan movie. Half decent action movie, see everything coming but worth a lazy afternoon or evening watch.

The Light is doing Shallow Grave (last screening is Monday) and Trainspotting and Cineworld is doing both of those and 28 Days Later this month (for £5 a ticket at Cineworld) if that helps.

EvilRedEye wrote:

Shallow Grave (1994) - This is good! Why did I not watch this 15 years ago?! Three friends who live in Scotland’s biggest flat recruit a dodgy new flatmate and things spiral downhill from there. I think you would guess this is Danny Boyle’s immediately pre-Trainspotting debut even if you didn’t know, in a good way. Apparently it’s also the writer’s debut, which absolutely doesn’t show. The soundtrack’s alright but is a bit television-synthy and cheap and gives away the low-budget debut nature of it all. The humour went down well in this cinema screening, getting a better reaction than some comedies I’ve seen this year. I was surprised to see Christopher Eccleston in this. He’s really good to the point it makes it a bit surprised he wasn’t better in his first year of Doctor Who. He could have just carried forward his performance from this and been great but maybe he overthought it? He would have settled down in his second series like Capaldi but I think based on this he had it in him to be great from the start. Overall, thought it was great, not a surprise it was followed up with an all-time classic and perhaps a bit of a shame Trainspotting has eclipsed it. ★★★★★

Saw that in the cinema at the time. The way it pivots is excellent.

Shallow Grave is well worth a revisit - was one of my go to VHS tapes back in the day, almost weekly viewings.

I remember it being properly good and very dark but also haven't seen it since it come out. Is it on any of the streamers?

Not for free. You can rent it on Amazon or Apple.

[Edit: Aye, what Gav said.]

Another win for dvds in the loft.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Another win for piracy.

The Eternal Memory (2023) - This Oscar-nominated documentary turned out to be available on iPlayer. This film looks at Chilean video journalist Augusto Góngora, whose work opposed the Pinochet regime, who at the time of filming was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (the film was released after his death), along with his wife, actress Paulina Urrutia, who is juggling her work with caring for Góngora.

The film immediately got my back up by filming its vulnerable subject in bed and while naked in the shower. I was left pondering the ethical dubiousness of the film throughout the rest of it, particularly as Góngora deteriorates at the end, clearly unable to meaningfully consent to the filming.

While Góngora clearly led an interesting life, his life story comes across as merely mid-tier interesting here. For much of the film, his Alzheimer’s is also conveniently film-friendly, coming across like a real-life version of The Notebook. That Góngora and Urrutia live unusually privileged lives is both a boon and a curse for the film, adding some interest, while taking other interest away.

Overall, I didn’t find this particularly engaging and had mixed feelings about it as a concept. I can definitely understand why this had appeal for a lot of people (slice of life, plus a bit of modern Chilean history, plus a bit of Alzheimer’s) but it wasn’t what I really want out of a documentary. ★★★☆☆

I'll do it.

EvilRedEye wrote:

perhaps a rare film that got better with age.

Like Streets of Fire.