What's the last film you watched?

X Men: First Class. Ok, so I was watching this online while playing poker which is probably not the best way to view a flick, especially since the picture and sound quality was pretty crappy and I wasn't paying too much attention. But anyway, from what I could tell it was a very well made flick, relying on character more than action set pieces which could only have been attained because of the quality of the cast involved. Speaking of the cast James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are great in their parts: they draw reference to Stewart and McKellen but it never turns into an imitation, in much the same way Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto respected Kirk and Spock in Star Trek but never parodied them. So yeah, defo a film I'll have to watch again in the right enviroment and a huge improvement on the travesties like X Men Last Stand and Wolverine.

Huge grammatical errors there... I should really read the fecking thing before I send!

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. Here listen, I loved the latest Star Trek but this is still the greatest Star Trek flick ever and quite possibly in the top 5 sci fi films for me anyway. Classic. Everything in the film is.

Complex Of Fear.

Revenge
Quentin Tarantino once admitted to "f$cking" loving this movie and I can see why as it contains many of the same elements that his own movies are renowned for. I mean it's so bloody stupid, melodramatic, violent and drenched with silly machismo, yet I still found myself enjoying the whole ludicrous scenary simply because of the directors skill at making it so darn watchable.

The Killers 1946
Magic stuff

State of Grace
I watched this many years ago and thought it was a pretty poor gangster film and still feel the same, especially after reading The Westies, which this flick is linked to, rather tenuously as far as I'm concerned. I've read the novel and this film is just wafer thin in terms of narrative, never coming to any conclusion beyond the bloody finale. It's a real paint-by-numbers storyline, which is an injustice to the source novel and the complexity of the characters involved.
The Westies were absolute psychopaths, and I don't think you feel it: you don't feel the fear that the rest of the mobs felt. They feared how these guys were so unpredictable.... but you sense that the italian mob thought they were a bunch of amateurs during this flick. Seriously, that wasn't the case.
But apart from that, I think the film is really patchy and not really thought through well enough. There's no narrative in place really, with no conclusion, and the only saving grace it has is that the actors involved are absolutely terrific, as well as the score, composed by none other than Ennio Morricone.
The best actor in the whole flick is Ed Harris, by a mile.

Harry Potter and the Deathly whatever...Part 1
I was bored, really bored. This felt like a chore, honest to God. When I compare it to the rest of the series I feel that they're trying to ring out as much money as they can, seeing as the series is nearly over. Think about it: there's no character development goin on. It's just the three of them going from one action set piece to another and yet it still, apparently, a film to be judged on it's own merit. Bull. This could have been a lean flick, instead it's bulky and boring.

American : Bill Hicks Story
Great stuff

Spawn.
One of those 90's comic book adaptations that passed me by at the time of it's release and after watching it now I can see why I was never really that bothered in watching it the first time round. I mean, there's definitely a good film waiting to be found here, but due to it's dodgy effects, direction and woefully inept acting from many of the actors it never really succeeds in bringing to life a source material that was lauded at the time. Perhaps with the advancement of CGI nowadays to help it along it may have been a success, but give me Hellboy any day over this solemn and moody stuff. If you want that kinda feel go for The Crow instead of this patchy piece of filmmaking.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
After watching this final installment I understand the reasons for me disliking the first part. Obviously the fact that these two films could have been easily compressed into one movie is an issue for me, but more than that, I understand now that the three main protagonists are just very inferior actors, completely lacking in the craft and passion that's necessary to carry a climax like this off. It's no coincidence that the best parts of this flick are ones that don't involve them, and at least in this one we have more scenes with really wonderful actors to offset the damage caused by three humourless androids who, having become multi-millionaires before the onset of puberty, really have no idea how to portray multi-layered, adult emotions because they're lacking in what makes a truly great actor - life experience and natural talent. Having said that, it's still a well made film but thank God it's the end of these 3 talentless, lucky and wannabe thespians.

It's easy for kids to play kids, like they did in the earlier flicks, but they were just not up to the challenge here.

I still feel that this film is half told, seeing as so much of the reels disappeared. As is, it's still Billy Willder's most audacious piece of filmmaking ever. He went all out with this one, and it's in my top 10 ever, even though half of it's lost in time now. Wait till you hear the main chorus... perfection.

and the love theme comes at the end, and it's one the greatest ones ever.

That's the love theme, and dont forget that Holmes was a gifted violinist. Beautiful stuff.

Same composer as Sherlock Holmes. Magic stuff.

Marley And Me.

It's the sweetest but most like saddest film ever.

Knight and Day.
Watched it again just to see if I had missed something, and no, it's the same nonsense which is a pity considering the two leads are so likeable and the beginning is so well put together. After that though... jaysus, the screenwriter should be shot. Well no, the beginning is good just because of Cruise and Diaz and that pair can only drive the film so far, but it needed more grit and less plotholes. Very silly film and it began to wear thin as a piece of entertainment after about 40mins or so.

Innerspace. Still an energetic and fun film, if you're in the mood for madcap action and adventure. It's no masterpiece, but it's aged fairly well and still contains some exciting moments. Just good fun really.

The Color of Money. He's not the greatest actor of all time, but he's still the greatest star. Watch him here and answer me a question: what other huge star has aged so gracefully, becoming the co-star, and still displayed the same star quality and greatness that made us realise again why we loved him or her in the first place? The only other person I can think of is Bette Davis, who just loved the art of acting, just like Newman. Cruise was the big star here, but there was only one star in this pic.

Just thought of another one after watching the rubbish Arthur, starring Russell Brand - Gielgud. He was exceptional in the original Arthur as was Dudley, the reason being for Moore is that he had a likability in front of the camera that Brand will never possess. As for Gielgud, he just was a supreme artist who could do as he pleased in front of a camera or on stage.

Working Girl. 1988. There's so much to admire from this film as far as movie making concerns - great actors, great storyline ect - but honestly, I think it's aged very badly for one reason: the love interest and how that dictates the whole pattern of the flick. She was good enough to do the business but she needed a brilliant guy to lead her... bollox. I suppose they have to have a love interest in every flick but it just seemed so forced. Anyway, very well made film but it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth now.

Carlito's Way... Crap and great at the same time, and that's what Palma does best. All his movies contain moment of, "oh dear God, that wasn't necessary", but the reality is that he's so exciting and different. Scorcese and the rest have become stale, at least Da Palma is different. That's why I love him and I really love Carlito's Way. Penn and Pacino are a match made in heaven here

I recently watched K19 - The Widowmaker. 
Good cast, Liam Nelson, Harrison Ford etc. Based on true events. Gripping and likeable. 
Last night I watched Kidulthood. It has its good moments, but I was often left bored. Some of the scenes are sickening to watch. I think there have been much better takes on similar films. The last 10 minutes was very gripping. 

Haven't been on here for awhile so I'll throw out a few of the flicks I've seen recently.

Drive: This director is a man to watch. Loved a few of his Danish flicks and I'm just amazed that he hasn't sacrificed his taut, sparse and slowly paced narratives in favour of a more energetic style of filmmaking for an MTV, attention deficit plagued audience that is the vogue in Hollywood pictures right now. I suppose it has to do with the small budget but still it's so refreshing to see a director allow a movie to breathe , particularly when it's set in modern day L.A. The whole thing is so brilliantly paced, allowing each moment of violence or revelation to really affect the viewer rather than just amuse them.

This is Michael Mann 80's flicks mixed with noir and with a slight taste of La Samurai, but it never loses it's own unique flavour. That's the genius of everyone involved, including the director I already mentioned, but even more importantly is the performance of Ryan Gosling. Understated and brilliantly judged, who would have thought a guy who made his name for rubbish like The Notebook would have crafted such an amazing C.V. Thoroughly impressed with everything he's touched since then.