2024 Films League Table

[legios]

1. Shadow in the Clouds - Been sitting in my Amazon queue since last year, and I'm only just getting to it as Operation:2005 clears out things I still want to watch on Prime. Lovely little film, playing with the modern mythology of gremlins trying to murder airmen. There is some fun stuff as it becomes clear that there really is something hateful on a B-17 flying over the Pacific in 1942, and it is good at raising the stakes as threats external and internal start to tear at the aircraft and crew. But for my money the real meat of it is the first 45 minutes or so, the majority of which is carried by Chloe Grace Moretz as the only actor on camera, locked into the claustrophobic confines of the 'planes ball-turret, interacting with the off-screen intercom voices of the rest of the crew. Absolutely fantastic stuff, and a textbook example of how to make a tiny space, with a single cast member on camera absolutely absorbing. Cracking stuff, almost wish I'd kept it to be the last thing on the way out of the door of Prime.

Karl

[Bogatan]

Its still in my head.

This review perfectly captures The Beekeeper experience. Spoilers I guess.

[The Doctor]

The Holdovers: by-the-numbers indy-windy-pish complete with spindly-windly guitar score.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

American Fiction: excellent drama. Very clever and Jeffrey Wright is amazing. Ordered the novel it's based on.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

1. Argylle
2. Wonka
3. The Beekeeper

Martin

[Grand Moff Muffin]

So much dislike for Argylle online. Trying to work out why. All I can come up with is that people thought Henry Cavill, John Cena and Dua Lipa were major characters in it. They aren’t, and it’s all the better for that. I have no idea why the posters and trailers couldn’t be honest about who was starring in it and who just had a cameo.

Martin

[Bogatan]

I too am confused by the dislike. I went in having seen one trailer for it and otherwise having not paid it a lot of attention. From that one trailer i was not shocked that those three werent a huge part of the film and yet, that does seem to have surprised and upset some people.

The film was fine or better throughout.

[The Doctor]

Argylle: I thought that was fun, though some points deducted by a tired attempt to franchise it at the end rather than let it be a decent one-and-done. Overall, I enjoyed it though.

The Zone of Interest: fucking hell. I sat stunned in my chair and had difficulty getting out my seat at the end. Unnerving, to put it mildly.

-Ralph

[legios]

1. Shadow in the Clouds

-1. "Rebel Moon Part 1: Child of inability to edit a script to make it come out at less than four hours in length" - or whatever its word-salad name actually is: Every so often watching this film there is a shot that has scope, impact, grace and beauty which reminds you that Zach Snyder could have been a great cinematographer if he was teamed with a director of clear vision to deliver. Unfortunately, in this case the Director, and one of the main crafters of the narrative for this mess are also Zach Snyder... This is a horrible dog's dinner. Essentially a blend of recovered story beats from Seven Samurai, Star Wars, and airport bookshop fantasy, with aesthetic touches heavily influenced by WH40K and a half-dozen other sources to produce...a series of scenes which sort of sit contigually within a "movie as bag". After two hours I had barely any idea of who anyone was, and less idea of who I was supposed to care. (Seriously, I know more about the Evil King and Queen who was killed and usurped by the Evil General/Regent in the film's backstory than I do people who are present for half of the movie.*)

It would be less frustrating if absolutely everything in the film was bad. But just every so often there is a shot, a moment of composition that reminds you that the perpetrator of all these other crimes against entertainment could have been a good cinematographer. It just makes the whole thing worse.


(* - no, really, by half an hour in I know more about a villain who doesn't appear until the very last scene, and the King and Queen of the Evil Empire that he had killed, than I do about the swordsmaster who was persuaded to join the "space samurai" at an hour in... By contrast by the same point in "Seven Samurai" we know who all of the Seven are, and are well on our way to fight a bandit leader who we barely know anything about because it _doesn't matter_ compared to creating investment in our heroes...)

Karl
(*Karl's League table disappears in a flash of cherenkov radiation as score and anti-score collide and annihilate each other)

[Grand Moff Muffin]

1. Madame Web (a refreshingly different superhero film)
2. Argylle
3. Wonka
4. The Beekeeper

Martin

[The Doctor]

Oh no.

Oh, Martin.

No.

Oh no.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

It wasn't great, but nothing has been great yet this year. It was definitely a nice change from special effects spectacles like Flash and Aquaman. Reviews have been overly harsh.

Martin

[The Doctor]

But...but The Beekeeper!

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

The sad thing is, all the trailers on before Madame Web looked worse than anything I've seen yet this year. I have zero enthisiasm to see Godzilla x Kong, Ghostbusters 5 or Dune 2.

Martin

[Pinwig]

No way would Ghostbusters beat Dune 5-2. Not even in a dodgy local cup where Dune just put out the reserves.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

I am increasingly entertained by how angry parts of the Internet are getting at Madame Web. So many wannabe back seat studio executives out there expressing views on what should and shouldn't exist on film.

Martin

[The Doctor]

I imagine that, as usual, those who howl the most haven't actually seen it.

I shall catch it at the weekend.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

Peppa Pig: Peppa's Cinema Party - The story arc for Mr Bull and Mrs Cow was unexpectedly gripping. As was the hint that Daddy Pig was having a holiday fling with a random lady over their deep love of hitting concrete with hammers.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

Madame Webb: Oh it was bad, but not Morbius-level bad. It's been made out to be the Worst Thing Ever but it's just dull and very average. The MCU has pumped out worse in the last few years. Watchable, but not actually good but not as shite as The Internet has declared.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

1. National Theatre Live: Vanya (cracking one-man show by Andrew Scott)
2. Madame Web
3. Argylle
4. Wonka
5. The Beekeeper

Martin

[The Doctor]

Mis-sold as a knockabout farce but it's actually a drama. Decent and a good watch but the trailer was so misleading!

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

The trailer for Dune 2 gets right on my tits with all the whispering. Can no-one raise their voice on that planet?

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

I wholeheartedly recommend seeing NT Live: The Motive and the Cue which comes to cinemas on 21 March.

Martin

[The Doctor]

I lost interest completely when I saw it was a recording, rather than live.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

I admit, it is a bit misleading. 'NT Recorded Before a Live Audience' would be more accurate.

Martin

[Grand Moff Muffin]

1. National Theatre Live: Vanya
2. Madame Web
3. Argylle
4. Dune: Part Two (well, I saw it, and it was better than Part One)
5. Wonka
6. The Beekeeper

My problem with Dune is I like all of it except for the main character's story. He was better in Wonka.

Martin

[Andy Turnbull]

How did Willy Wonka find himself on Arrakis?

[Grand Moff Muffin]

1. National Theatre Live: Vanya
2. Madame Web
3. Argylle
4. Dune: Part Two
5. Wonka
6. The Beekeeper
7. Lisa Frankenstein (somewhat disturbing and rather a mess)

Martin

[Benn]

1. The Boy in the Woods

Dropped into the European premiere after the Mini-Con. It's a solid enough 'based on a true story' film but I was starting to feel the runtime. Given it clocked in at less than two hours, that's probably not great.

[Bogatan]

1. The Beekeeper

2. Argylle - fun enough

3. Madame Web - not fun enough. It was basically fine in the dullest possible way.

4. Dune Part 2 - Better than part 1. Visually great. Worked really well in Screen X.

5. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - I enjoyed it, not sure anyone who disliked Afterlife will be swayed by it. Cast was probably too big, with just about everyone one from Afterlife coming back, with bigger roles for many of the original cast and 3 or 4 new characters added in. Then again they all have roles to play and theres a couple of nice pair ups throughout.