West Ham Online

Another year and another set of movies being released.

As always there are a few surprises throughout the year that come out but the big movies look to be good ones this year:

- The Gentlemen
- Jojo Rabbit
- 1917
- Uncut Gems
- Bombshell
-Bad Boys for Life
- The Lighthouse
- Just Mercy
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
- Parasite
- Birds of Prey
- Dolittle
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Bloodshot
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Dark Waters
- Onward
- A Quiet Place: Part 2
- Mulan
- Bond: No Time to Die
- The New Mutants
- Black Widow
- Scoob!
- Fast and Furious 9
- Wonder Woman 1984
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife
- Minions: The Rise of Gru
- Tenet
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Jungle Cruise
- Morbius
- Bill & Ted Face the Music
- The King's Man
- Halloween Kills
- Eternals
- Gozilla vs. Kong
- Dune
- Coming 2 America
- West Side Story

Well what an idiot I am.  Stumbled across LA Confidential on Prime last night as had never watched it,  Don't ask me why as I am a fan of Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce has done some decent stuff, before his blackballing Spacey was a superb actor and Kim Basinger used to be a favourite.  Maybe as a younger man a Film Noir type didn't appeal and the DVD case never quite grabbed me.  So watched it nearly 30 years later and boy did I miss out!  Wasn't sure first 45 minutes or so but it certainly came to life.  Great film, never judge a film by it's DVD cover!!

Fackham Hall.

A pisstake of Downton Abbey  which is a bit like a Carry On and filled with Naked Gun/Airplane type jokes.

It's not bad.

Some old dear sat near us obviously expected a genuine Downton Abbey type film - 'worst film I have ever seen'.

Watched Troll 2 last night. Was good fun. 

Wake Up Dead Man - a load of shit.

Could be decent:

Watched Year 10. Just doesn't make any sense. 

In the middle of no where surviving in a small area they live, yet some how have never come across the bad guys living nearby, the young lad living nearby, two abandoned vehicles nearby, the house that was nearby, the tent that was nearby and abandoned for years What the fuck did they do for 10 years, just hang around in their gaff starving and never move more than half a mile. 

Decided to buy the new Naked Gun DVD at CEX as it was going cheap.  Big, big fan, certainly of the original where I had to see it twice in the cinema because I laughed so much I missed too much.  Second and third were still very funny in places but not a match on the first.  So to be fair wasn't expecting much.  Neeson and Anderson are very good to be fair in playing it straight and it kind of works for the first half an hour or so with some decent belly laughs but it falters out fairly quickly in the second half.  You just can't match the facial expressions or bumbling innocence of Leslie Nielsen and it doesn't do what  Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker did so well.  I know he was only a producer but I've never found anything Seth MacFarlane has been involved in particularly funny.  I'd say B for effort and C- for achievement.  

likewise I saw Caught Stealing and thought it was really good and was a surprised it hadn't garnered more attention, especially given Austin Butler has become a bit of a Hollywood darling in recent yrs since he played Elvis. Brilliant film and was really impressed with Matt Smith's role in it alongside Ray Donovan as an Hasidic Jew hitman!!!

Not only those but to have Zoe Kravitz, Regina King, Bad Bunnie, Laura Dern and more you'd think this would have gained the same sort of hype as the massive let down that One Battle After Another has received.

DukeofDevo wrote: ↑09 Dec 2025, 23:53 Saw a good one: Caught Stealing Austin Butler and a good turn from Matt Smith
rime thriller set in New York

Saw a good one: Caught Stealing Austin Butler and a good turn from Matt Smith
rime thriller set in New York

Jim79 wrote: ↑08 Dec 2025, 13:51
Has anyone else watched it and got an opinion so I can at least work out if it is as bad as I seem to think it is or if I've somehow had a stroke (no, not that kind) mid-film and missed the hole point of it.

No idea if anyone has mentioned this film but watched it at the weekend. 

Relay

Its on Amazon UK and is currently number 3 in the film list.

I'd never heard of it before but it's an old fashioned thriller set in New York with Riz Ahmed as the lead male and Lilly James as the female lead. 

I found very little to criticise as I watched it. Great entertainment. 

I agree with Zico that Spotlight is a first class film and going by the list of winners in my book would be the last worthy winner in 2015.

Best film nominations over 2000 / 2001:

• American Beauty (Winner)

I remember reading an article back then about American Beauty, how it was made by gays, how the pink pound had taken over Hollywood and that the age of strong, heterosexual, male role models were over and that we need to get used to gays writing men, as weak, liars and cheats. 

If ever an article could predict the future it was that one.  
 

I know people love to think that everything was better in the good old days but if you like at the Oscar winners since it began then every single decade was mostly filled with mediocre films, with the exception of the 70s.

mallard wrote: ↑08 Dec 2025, 17:48

• 2000: Gladiator
• 2001: A Beautiful Mind
• 2002: Chicago
• 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• 2004: Million Dollar Baby
• 2005: Crash
• 2006: The Departed
• 2007: No Country for Old Men
• 2008: Slumdog Millionaire
• 2009: The Hurt Locker
• 2010: The King’s Speech
• 2011: The Artist
• 2012: Argo
• 2013: 12 Years a Slave
• 2014: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• 2015: Spotlight
• 2016: Moonlight
• 2017: The Shape of Water
• 2018: Green Book
• 2019: Parasite

2020s

• 2020: Nomadland
• 2021: CODA
• 2022: Everything Everywhere All at Once
• 2023: Oppenheimer
• 2024: Anora

From that list of ‘Best Picture’  Oscars, I’d say 2007 was the last worthy winner

Jay Kelly...
My life ...a Liberal wank fest of smug boring dog shit.
if I ever met one of these actor cunts  I don't think I'd last long in their environment.


 

• 2000: Gladiator
• 2001: A Beautiful Mind
• 2002: Chicago
• 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• 2004: Million Dollar Baby
• 2005: Crash
• 2006: The Departed
• 2007: No Country for Old Men
• 2008: Slumdog Millionaire
• 2009: The Hurt Locker
• 2010: The King’s Speech
• 2011: The Artist
• 2012: Argo
• 2013: 12 Years a Slave
• 2014: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• 2015: Spotlight
• 2016: Moonlight
• 2017: The Shape of Water
• 2018: Green Book
• 2019: Parasite

2020s

• 2020: Nomadland
• 2021: CODA
• 2022: Everything Everywhere All at Once
• 2023: Oppenheimer
• 2024: Anora

From that list of ‘Best Picture’  Oscars, I’d say 2007 was the last worthy winner

Zico, check out Anora, which won loads of Oscars.  Best film I've seen in an age.

Don't think I've watched an Oscar winning film all the way through since the excellent Spotlight in 2015, and I didn't even know it was an Oscar winner when I watched it.  Tried sitting down to watch Oppenheimer three times and still not finished it, painfully dull.  Was told by an old mate who used to run a video library back in the day, if you want enjoyment avoid Oscar winners and anything Barry Norman suggests!    Probably a tad harsh!  I think it got a bit arty and preachy late 2000's, although there were still some good winners like The King's Speech and The Hurt Locker.  It's all about taste though isn't it, I personally couldn't stand No Country For Old Men but can understand why some love it, but I quite liked Forrest Gump!!

Seen two new ones this week.  Saw "Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery" and quite enjoyed it.  Good cast and better than the second of the trilogy but not as good as the first.  Also watched Netflix's "Jay Kelly." with George Clooney, which I found interesting to say the least.  Wouldn't watch it again but found it worth a watch.

 

Fucking Oscar's.! Hollywoods public masturbation ceremony. It peaked in 95. And it's been downhill since. Most of which is the industry own doing. Quentin was the new hot shot about town. And a film about a couple of old cons. Would snag 7 nominations. And win sweet FA. Joe Public would go on to vote it as The Greatest Movie ever made.(But what do they know.?) Even Disney was smart enough to rip off Shakespeare for its material. But the true darling and winner was that Boomer Wankathon. Forrest Gump. (RUN FORREST. RUN.) And we saw how that turned out.!

Sure there has been the odd classic between now and then. But 95 was the turning point. Hopefully when the WB/ Netflix deal goes through. The AI slop that going to get pumped onto the screens. Will make The Hallmark Channel look like Fellini.

The relief I feel knowing that im not the only one who thought this, I'd read all sorts of reviews before watching the film and sat down thinking I was in for a real treat. Im a big fan of DiCaprio, Benecio Del Toro and Sean Penn so was convinced before even switching it on that it was going to be a winner so once I'd finished the almost 3 hour run time I just sat there puzzled as to what I'd watched. I was truly baffled wondering if I'd missed a key scene or piece of information as I just didnt get it. 

Regarding the Oscars, yep it seems to be guaranteed to pick up several gongs and like you say Jean-Luc, is evident that the quality of films these days is just not there. We've got more 'content' than ever but we rarely seem to get big screen blockbusters that are both critically and commercially successful. As an exercise I looked back at the best film nominations for the most recent 3-4 years versus those from the early 2000's and the contrast is stark and im guessing if you went back further it may be even more considerable. See below for examples.

Best film nominations over 2000 / 2001:

• American Beauty (Winner) / The Cider House Rules / The Green Mile / The Insider  / The Sixth Sense 
• Gladiator (Winner) / Chocolat / Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon  / Erin Brockovich //Traffic

Best film nominations over 2025 / 2024:

• Anatomy of a Fall / The Holdovers / Killers of the Flower Moon/ Maestro / Past Lives / Poor Things / The Zone of Interest
• Anora / The Brutalist / A Complete Unknown / Conclave / Dune: Part Two / Emilia Pérez / I'm Still Here (Brazilian film) / Nickel Boys / The Substance

The two lists are just not in the same world let alone league.

 

Jim, I didn't like it much and my missus thought it was complete shit. Just seemed a bit muddled and confused about what it was trying to do or say. Apparently it's a shoo-in for best Oscar which shows what a crap year it's been for films.

Jim79 wrote: ↑08 Dec 2025, 13:51 I watched One Battle After Another with great expectations given the stellar cast but was left thinking what the fuck did I just watch. Sean Penn gives an incredibly performance but there just didnt appear to be a story line and barely any of it made sense. I feel like I need to watch it again just incase I've missed something key because I genuinely can't believe the film is as bad as it was.

Has anyone else watched it and got an opinion so I can at least work out if it is as bad as I seem to think it is or if I've somehow had a stroke (no, not that kind) mid-film and missed the hole point of it.

I watched One Battle After Another with great expectations given the stellar cast but was left thinking what the fuck did I just watch. Sean Penn gives an incredibly performance but there just didnt appear to be a story line and barely any of it made sense. I feel like I need to watch it again just incase I've missed something key because I genuinely can't believe the film is as bad as it was.

Has anyone else watched it and got an opinion so I can at least work out if it is as bad as I seem to think it is or if I've somehow had a stroke (no, not that kind) mid-film and missed the hole point of it.