Since the progeny have now left home, Mrs Nick & I have started going to the cinema, and we could do with some recommendations, otherwise it's pot luck and Guardian reviews!

So, rate your movie experiences for me please. I'll kick offwith the three we've seen this year. feel free to disagree.

Stars out of five please.

Casino Royale ****
Different kind of Bond film. Heavy on action, less so on special effects and totty, thankfully. An enjoyable romp.

Night at the Museum **
Crap, basically, rescued only by Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan. I wonder if the Americans will understand Ricky Gervais/

Miss Potter ****
I was dragged along to this, and found it to be a delightful film. Well shot, bit twee at times, but thoroughly enjoyable

Haven't seen any yet this year, although I saw Casino Royale last year and enjoyed it hugely.

I'd also recommend Flushed Away to anyone that thought the best bit about the Toy Story films was the green aliens. One word: slugs.

4/5 for each, although people with an aversion to 'kiddie' films should knock at least one off that for Flushed Away...

I saw The Last King of Scotland last night and enjoyed it a lot, particularly Forest Whitaker's portrayal of Idi Amin. It got a bit gruesome near the end though. ****

Has anyone else seen Pan's Labyrinth? I really loved it.

Children of men was pretty great too.

I saw perfume: story of a murderer and i thought it was a bit dull.

I saw Pan's Labyrinth. I'm really not sure if I liked it or not though... I was kinda confused.

I thought Pan's Labyrinth was great. It was like two stories in one...if some people are put off by the fantasy element, it was as much about the Spanish civil war as anything else.

Children of Men was grim but great. The Departed was disappointing (watch Infernal Affairs first and you'll see why). Apocalypto was good. Eragon was like a poor childrens story. Casino Royale was ocake. I think that covers most of the films I've seen at the cinema recently, I'd recommend Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men the most.

i didn't think pan's labyrinth was confusing, and i'm rubbish at films!!

children of men was great.

Saw "Venus" last night. Don't believe the reviews, it's basically a "tart with a heart" movie, nice poignant moments, with a touch of pathos, but not very good.

Mrs Nick loved it!

** only two stars, I'm afraid.

It appears I have my own sad little thread. aaaaah! Nevermind!

Notes on a Scandal (chosen by Mrs Nick - I wanted to see Deamgirls)

The plot was a bit far fetched (would a teacher as attractive as Cate Blanchett really want to sh@g a 15 year old?), and the researchers obviously watched one back episode of "Teachers" to find out what classroom life was like.

Plum performance fom the Dame as an embittered spinster, but the film as a whole failed to live up to expectations, and the ending was just crass.

Three stars only I'm afraid ***

(Oh, and "Hot Fuzz" is released Feb 16 - I expect to see a plethora of reviews please!!!)

It's actually out on the 14th, even though that's a Wednesday. Can't wait to see it.

Have been really slack with cinema-going lately... I will contribute to this eventually!

I'll be seeing Hot Fuzz when it comes out as well.

Until recently, Clearlake's Wikipedia page said that Jason Pegg (singer) was the half-brother of Simon Pegg. Completely untrue but I didn't put it there and it amused me so I never bothered to change it. His brother IS called Simon Pegg but it's not that one.

Hot Fuzz *****

Believe everything you've read, and go along for a good laugh. Highly recommended! So many one liners and cameo appearances that I'll need to get the dvd to find what I missed.

Sad Git Cinema Update.........

Saw Mischief Night last night...............

Typical Channel 4 "It's Grim Up North" gritty comedy/melodrama with loads of swearing and drugs, offending every stereotype you could imagine. Out of the "East is East" stable via "Goodness Gracious Me", this is actually not a bad film at all. Very feelgood ending, but made me belly laugh in places, especially when they bundled the OAP drug dealers into the boot of the Omega!

4/5 **** Worth a visit :P

Has anyone seen The Science of Sleep? I wanted to but didn't get round to it and I might be too late now...

Based on last night and this evening's DVD-watching:

Are We There Yet? - appalling.
Borat - the worst film I've ever seen.
The Devil Wears Prada - alright if you can cope with chick flicks.
Snakes On A Plane - either terrible or brilliant, I can't decide. Erring towards terrible for safety.
The Devil & Daniel Johnston - brilliant.

We'll have to disagree on that one!

top new film for me is "for your consideration". its the new offering from christopher guest.

very funny. takes more than one watch (it wouldn't be a guest if it didnt).

ricky gervais appears in it, basically playing brent as ever. not bad though.

i'd recomend it.

and borat made me laugh too damian!

Managed to miss that AND The Science of Sleep. Not doing too well with films lately...

DVD'd this past week:

I saw it in 1999 but finally got round to seeing The Matrix for the 1st time since I bought it 3 yrs ago as it was remastered for the 10 disc box set, the picture was great they set out to do what they wanted & done it good.

Watching The Rock & Schindler's Listbut there both on pause the moment

Watched the Richard Donner original cut of Superman II last night. Interesting.....I think I like it more in ways but I need to watch it again.

Bought Police Squad & Knight Rider Season 2 DVD's

Too bad for you D they releasing a sequal to Are We There Yet I saw it too, crap.

Borat was funny but much of it is rehearsed etc

Blades of Glory

Just got back from seeing this movie. In a word.....

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. (Okay, I lied)

A plotline thinner than my hair, acting more wooden than a Trojan Horse, this movie shold be so bad it stinks, but y'know what?

It's one of the funniest, laugh out loud films I've seen in ages. Silly, belly laugh stunts that actually work. Will Ferrell may not win any oscars for this, but he's a fine line in comedy timing. Thoroughly recommended when it hits Blockbusters, Mrs Nick & I give this one the thumbs up. Just what we needed on an otherwise boring Monday evening.

**** :D :D :D :D

I want to see that. I had free tickets to Dodgeball and thought it was the sort of thing I'd hate, but it was really good. This sounds like more of the same...

If I knew more about skating I could be tempted to say that it does for the sport what Best in Show does for dogs, and Spinal Tap does for heavy metal.

But I don't! :lol:

Just got back from seeing Magcians, with Mitchell & Webb

It's not very funny.

**

Two stars only I'm afraid. There's enough material for a good sketch here. In fact I think there's a brilliant Mac advert waiting to get out of this movie. Until then stick with the Peep Show dvd's. :huh:

I'm really bad at watching films.

The best thing I've seen lately is Mean Girls which, realistically, is only good because two of the four main characters are incredibly hot.

Do me a favour and review/rate it please! otherwise this thread is in serious danger of disappearing up my @rse!

I'll rate a film for you then (the first one I've seen in weeks)...last night I watched a French film called La Haine. It was about three friends living in a poor area of Paris, their inability to make anything positive of their life and the tensions that can arise when certain members of the Police abuse them. Even though it was made in the 90s it's perhaps still relevant today after seeing the riots that happened in Paris last year. It wasn't what I expected and not as good as most reviews seem to say but I'd still give it a solid 7/10.

I'd recommend This Is England (in cinemas at the moment). I haven't seen it yet, but it's by Shane Meadows, whose previous films I like.

La Haine is an excellent film. Personally, I'd rate it 8/10 but as an addendum...in the special edition DVD there is a booklet which contains transcripts of a discussion carried out over the internet between the director, Matthieu Kassovitz, and the French Secretary of the Interior at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy. As you can imagine, with their opposing political views it made for interesting reading. The liberal Kassovitz delivering an indictment of social policy which the right-wing Sarkozy seized upon as proof that immigration is a bad idea and the banlieue (inner-cities) are a problem that needs to be dealt with in a manner not exactly screaming with compassion. Thank God he's not running the country now...

Just missed This Is England when it was at my local cinema but Shane Meadows' previous film, Dead Man's Shoes, is well worth catching if only for Paddy Considine's performance. It's utterly electrifying. 8/10

Saw The Live Of Others last week. It's a German film about the Stasi (not-so secret police but equally averse to people taking the pizzle out of them) of East Germany set in the 80s. It's a brilliant character piece highlighting the emptiness of one such official whose job is covert observation but gradually insinuates his way into the life of his subject to the point where he is affecting his life in ways of which the subject is unaware. Eventually the Wall comes down and democracy comes to the east which renders the Stasi and higher government officials impotent in a free society. The ending is emotionally affecting and I thoroughly recommend everyone sees it. It won this year's Oscar for best foreign language film if anyone cares about such trivial matters. 9/10

Sarkozy was sworn in whilst I was in Paris. I was expecting riots but they didn't happen fortunately.

I haven't seen a film in far too long and need to do something about it. Not going to see Pirates of the Caribbean - first film great, second film diabolical, third made around the same time, getting just as bad reviews and I won't make the mistake again... see also, "The Matrix". Actually, this is the year of bad third films isn't it? Count them!

I know, I'm not even sure I can be arsed to see the new Spider-Man after seeing uninspiring clips and reading lacklustre notices. Oddly, I'm really looking forward to the new Fantastic Four and Transformers films. And The Golden Compass (should be Northern Lights!!)

I've just added The Lives of Others to my rental list on your recommendation.

After not watching a film for ages, I've watched three in as many days.

The Station Agent is about a dwarf whose only friend dies and he inherits an old station agent's building next to a railway, he goes out there to be alone and continue his secluded life. He doesn't bank on a couple of friendly neighbours though, who are just an annoyance to him at first. Eventually three of them become close friends, though it's not that simple as they all have their own personal problems. It was on BBC2 on Saturday night, the second time I've seen it and I've probably made it sound boring but it's an excellent, captivating film, and very funny in parts too. 8/10

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is set in a post-apocalyptic future where pollution has destroyed almost everything, small remaining factions of humans remain and are fighting over Earth's dwindling resources while the 'Sea of Decay' expands and continues to destroy everything in its path. Nausicaa is princess of a small village who no longer rely on industry and are more self-sufficient, but always afraid that the Sea of Decay could one day engulf their village. This is an early Hayao Miyazaki film (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke etc.), I didn't realise it was as old as 1984 though until after I watched it. Apart from some out-of-place dialogue to tell the story at the beginning, it's excellent, and now one of my favourite films - a mighty 9/10! Please don't watch it dubbed, I just exposed myself to a few minutes of it that way. :o

Heh, OK...

Erm, previously home-schooled girl goes to high school and gets involved with a few random slappers who think they're better than everyone else (and, to be fair, they're right) and then... lots of stuff happens.

It's sort of half chick-flick, half US high school comedy. Which, I'm slightly ashamed to admit, are probably my two favourite kinds of films.

I'll have to give it 9/10. It's on Channel 4 this coming Saturday, watch it and judge for yourselves.

My flatmate is absolutely obsessed with that, and anything else involving Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I never got around to watching any of them, but I'm tempted to try.

Spirited Away is a classic. Although bloody odd.

Spirited Away was the one he recommended I watch first out of the ones he had here... he might be coming back tonight so I'll get him to bring them. A DVD-watching session might be just what I need to stave off death by boredom.

The odd little touches are one of the things I love about the films.

We watched Stranger Than Fiction on DVD last night. I'd expected a fairly straightforward comedy (I think my assumption was mostly because it stars Will Ferrell), but it was actually quite thought-provoking and really rather touching. 8/10 from me - I'm not entirely sure it'd be as enjoyable second time round, but definitely worth a watch at least once.

I intend to watch Stranger than Fiction at some point.

Most recently I've seen This is England...'tis about a boy who loses his father during the Falklands war and sees a new father-figure in a racist skin-head. It was a lot funnier than I expected, but not as brilliant as I expected from other reviews. Definitely worth a watch though, and as has been said many times, the setting and story is as relevant today as in the early 80s - 7.5/10.

Also, The Cave of the Yellow Dog...a film about a family of Mongolian nomads. Not much happens, but it's a nice look at their way of life, one that is sadly disappearing... 6.5/10

I just realised I've watched 3 films this week! The other was Before Sunset, about a couple who meet 9 years after falling in love (and they'd only met the once before). I usually try and stay away from romance films, but I loved this, the dialogue and chemistry between Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke was great - 8/10.


I just noticed Harry Potter and The Simpsons Movie are released on the same weekend. Which do you think will be the biggest hit? Although I'm looking forward to The Simpsons Movie (and not bothered about Potter), I think Harry Potter will win out. Although still entertaining, I think The Simpsons is past it's peak in popularity, especially with the likes of American Dad and Family Guy around now...

I think Harry Potter will do much better. But I'm more keen to go and see The Simpsons. Have you seen in the paper how they've temporarily turned thousands of American shops into Kwik-E Marts, to publicise it? You can buy Krusty-Os (or whatever they're called) and all the other fictional stuff off the show. They must have a massive budget.

Hehe, I didn't know about that. I've just found a picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kwik-e-mart-7-11.jpg

It does look like they're doing a rather large job of promoting it, and there seems to be a lot going on at simpsonsmovie.com - you can do Simpsons avatars at long last! :D


(though I did have to Photoshop a background, a beard, longer hair and British Sea Power t-shirt)

Saw Shrek 3. Nowhere near as good as the first one (or even the second), but not the stinker you'll have been led to believe either. 6/10 if you like the other two.

Trailers for The Simpsons look promising but I worry it might be a mess. They're literally still piecing it together bit by bit, with three weeks until the release. Every actor has come in, said his/her lines with no context of the rest of the film, then the script has been shredded.

Not bothered about the Harry Potter films really. So far I've seen the first one and read three chapters of the first book. I doubt I'll ever get any further than that. The film wasn't bad though.