The Movie Reel

[MargaretMcAleer]

Favorite Christmas films? I think we've done this before. I did just watch Die Hard, to kick off the mood. LOL. I know it's not traditional, and I'll watch sweeter ones, but that's a classic Christmas action film, and it informed a lot of action films after it. Scrooged is another favorite, and I will get to "It's a Wonderful Life," eventually. Also, "Elf," which surprised me, and "Love, Actually," which I warmed up to, because my mother loved it, and we watched it together every year, just the two of us, before the family came up, while we made pies.

I would like to add,
The Holiday, with Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black as one of my favorite Christmas film's

 

[don_fabio]

Favorite Christmas films? I think we've done this before. I did just watch Die Hard, to kick off the mood. LOL. I know it's not traditional, and I'll watch sweeter ones, but that's a classic Christmas action film, and it informed a lot of action films after it. Scrooged is another favorite, and I will get to "It's a Wonderful Life," eventually. Also, "Elf," which surprised me, and "Love, Actually," which I warmed up to, because my mother loved it, and we watched it together every year, just the two of us, before the family came up, while we made pies.

We've definitely done it before. Holdovers is a decent one from two years ago. Stars Paul Giamatti.

 

[Horsa]

Scrooge, White Xmas & Holiday Inn for me.

 

[Kieran]

I think of all the Pixar movies as being ideal for Christmas. Especially Coco, Up, Wall-E, the Incredibles, so many of them. Love Actually, and anything like it, a lot of soppy women’s films get by the radar this time of year. Hallmark movies.




Musicals too. Oliver is my own personal favourite, I was in a performance of it in school, but The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, I can sit through all of them. I also associate Gone With The Wind with Christmas because in the days before videos, that great film was very selectively released in cinemas and eventually on television, and it was a big event for us all to sit around the floor as kids and keep quiet while my parents lapped it up..

 

[britbox]

28 Years Later - The Temple of Bones

The fourth instalment in this Horror series, and the second in the modern trilogy. This follows the boy from the previous episode and his journey which comprises of falling into the clutches of a pretty evil gang roaming the wilderness . Ralph Fiennes steals the show, as a kind of hermit figure and former doctor who is trying to understand the nature of the infected and strikes up a strange kind of friendship with one of the Alpha males. The film ends with a cameo from Cillian Murphy who starred in the original 28 Days Later, and will play a starring role in the final film to come.

Pretty gory film but an interesting trip into different aspects of human nature - the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

[Jelenafan]

Don't be worried! It's a good film. I just think he must have written a dystopian future, and then it has sort of come true. Holding pens of immigrants, right wing and left wing extremists. But it's also a farce, and it's funny. Just see it.

I honestly don't think either PT Anderson or Bigelow are that under-appreciated. (OK, I liked Licorice Pizza more than anyone I know.) Bigelow does have an Oscar for directing. Anyway, I'll be curious how you felt about both of the films.

I loooved “One battle after another” , and I think of it as a black comedy road trip dystopian action thriller. Don’t let that scare you, LOL. So many good performances, especially Benicio del Toro & Sean Penn.

Also can we please take our ass out of our politics prism mindset and just enjoy a great movie for what it is, a great movie?. I’m so tired of the friggin labeling every movie “ woke”, etc. all directors have POV’s and as a cinephile I can enjoy a movie for the sheer thrill of moviemaking. OBAA is one of those moments.

Some of the action scenes made my jaw drop, they are almost like dance choreography, simply brilliant.

 

[Kieran]

28 Years Later - The Temple of Bones

The fourth instalment in this Horror series, and the second in the modern trilogy. This follows the boy from the previous episode and his journey which comprises of falling into the clutches of a pretty evil gang roaming the wilderness . Ralph Fiennes steals the show, as a kind of hermit figure and former doctor who is trying to understand the nature of the infected and strikes up a strange kind of friendship with one of the Alpha males. The film ends with a cameo from Cillian Murphy who starred in the original 28 Days Later, and will play a starring role in the final film to come.

Pretty gory film but an interesting trip into different aspects of human nature - the good, the bad and the ugly.

One to look forward to! I like these films, really love zombie and vampire flicks.

 

[Murat B.]

One to look forward to! I like these films, really love zombie and vampire flicks.

Hey Kieran !
Likewise, I like this stuff too because it is rare these days where it is just a movie..
Loved the Zombieland movies with Woody Harrelson.

 

[Kieran]

Hey Kieran !
Likewise, I like this stuff too because it is rare these days where it is just a movie..
Loved the Zombieland movies with Woody Harrelson.

Hey Murat!! Great to see you brother! You well?

Yeah they were funny and great films. And recently I read some really great vampire novels. I love that gothic cobwebby stuff!

 

[Murat B.]

I watched Gladiator II today...after resisting to watch it since it came out because the first one was special for me and Maximus is dead.
I did not hate it but did not love it either. First, it was 45 minutes too long. Second, it is one of those rare times where Denzel Washington did not fit the role in my opinion. Well, at least he did not call Lucius "My man!" so that's a positive. Paul Mescal was a good Lucius. Both Emperors were vile creatures so that means they did their jobs well. The Arena fight scenes...well, at least the sharks did not have laser beams attached to their heads.

Was I entertained ? Somewhat. I did not know Mescal before this movie, so I am glad I was introduced to him. 5.5 out of 10 for me.

 

[tented]

I recently watched the three Godfather films again (yes, even No. 3). The first two hold up magnificently. They’re definitely two of the greatest movies ever made. It’s hard to pick between the two but I prefer the first one a bit more: Brando, James Caan, Michael’s exodus to Italy and his first marriage.

The third one is not even close to the first two! I read that Coppola regrets not giving Duvall the money he wanted, therefore eliminating his character. That was a huge mistake. And I know Winona Ryder withdrew at the last second, thus Coppola brought in his daughter to portray Pacino’s daughter, but holy shit! I think any standard actress could have done a better job. She almost single-handedly ruins the whole film.

Did anyone ever notice the motif of oranges = death? I’d never noticed that before, but time and again, if someone is eating one, given one, buying one, etc., their character dies/gets killed. I don’t know why oranges, though?

 

[brokenshoelace]

I made it a point to go back to watching a lot of movies in 2025, both old and new, and the two that stuck out the most were Jaws (I'd seen it so many times but the last time had been some 15-20 years ago) and Sinners.

Jaws is just a game changing masterpiece that holds up incredibly well today. Well deserving of all the accolades. Amity island feels so alive, and it's so easy to be invested. You truly feel like you're living with the characters. Of course, the final act is just cinematic genius. I know we all give in to nostalgia very easily but it's hard not to feel how much Hollywood has disintegrated when rewatching some of the classics.

With that said, Sinners is a true modern masterpiece in its own right. A true showcase of all around black excellence. Highly recommended.

 

[Federberg]

I watched Gladiator II today...after resisting to watch it since it came out because the first one was special for me and Maximus is dead.
I did not hate it but did not love it either. First, it was 45 minutes too long. Second, it is one of those rare times where Denzel Washington did not fit the role in my opinion. Well, at least he did not call Lucius "My man!" so that's a positive. Paul Mescal was a good Lucius. Both Emperors were vile creatures so that means they did their jobs well. The Arena fight scenes...well, at least the sharks did not have laser beams attached to their heads.

Was I entertained ? Somewhat. I did not know Mescal before this movie, so I am glad I was introduced to him. 5.5 out of 10 for me.

Thank you for saying this. I too felt that Denzel wasn't a great fit either, and I'm a huge fan of his. These days a clear sign of a movie's quality is whether I'm able to keep my eyes open all the way through. Name any Marvel or Star Wars franchise move in the last few years and my friends were elbowing me awake While I believe I held through Gladiator 2, I was constantly trying to look at my phone because it just felt unnecessarily long!

F1 and Marty Supreme are two movies that fully kept my attention in recent times. Damn it but Gwyneth Paltrow was hotter than she's ever been in any movie in Marty Supreme

 

[Murat B.]

I made it a point to go back to watching a lot of movies in 2025, both old and new, and the two that stuck out the most were Jaws (I'd seen it so many times but the last time had been some 15-20 years ago) and Sinners.

Jaws is just a game changing masterpiece that holds up incredibly well today. Well deserving of all the accolades. Amnesty island feels so alive, and it's so easy to be invested. You truly feel like you're living with the characters. Of course, the final act is just cinematic genius. I know we all give in to nostalgia very easily but it's hard not to feel how much Hollywood has disintegrated when rewatching some of the classics.

With that said, Sinners is a true modern masterpiece in its own right. A true showcase of all around black excellence. Highly recommended.

Man I love Jaws...But I wish I have never read Benchley's book , where the marine biologist character has an affair with Chief Brody's wife and actually dies in the cage in the end. So when I watch the movie and see the last scene where Brody and Hooper are happily swimming to the shore, I am like " Dude, he screwed your wife! " I know I know, I should not be doing that but like I said, sometimes not reading the book is better....maybe?

 

[brokenshoelace]

Man I love Jaws...But I wish I have never read Benchley's book , where the marine biologist character has an affair with Chief Brody's wife and actually dies in the cage in the end. So when I watch the movie and see the last scene where Brody and Hooper are happily swimming to the shore, I am like " Dude, he screwed your wife! " I know I know, I should not be doing that but like I said, sometimes not reading the book is better....maybe?

Jaws the movie is vastly superior to the book. The book dives into all sorts of politics and the movie wisely stayed clear of that. It was also a very good call to stay clear of the whole affair thing in the movie as it would have felt very out of place and completely killed the camaraderie that the 3 characters build leading up to and during the climax.

Fun fact: Hooper was meant to die in the cage in the movie as well. But while shooting real life footage of a great white shark in Australia to use in the movie, a shark actually charged the cage and the photographer had to make an emergency exit. The shark diving head first into the cage is actually real footage and to quote Spielberg, "it saved Hooper's life" in the movie as it was obviously too good not to use, so they re-wrote that.

 

[britbox]

Jaws the movie is vastly superior to the book. The book dives into all sorts of politics and the movie wisely stayed clear of that. It was also a very good call to stay clear of the whole affair thing in the movie as it would have felt very out of place and completely killed the camaraderie that the 3 characters build leading up to and during the climax.

Fun fact: Hooper was meant to die in the cage in the movie as well. But while shooting real life footage of a great white shark in Australia to use in the movie, a shark actually charged the cage and the photographer had to make an emergency exit. The shark diving head first into the cage is actually real footage and to quote Spielberg, "it saved Hooper's life" in the movie as it was obviously too good not to use, so they re-wrote that.

Never knew the trivia on Hooper - interesting stuff. I didn't know it was filmed in Australia either.

Funnily enough, we stayed on Amity in Oz and they have the shark warnings.

 

[britbox]

Interesting anecdote about the film being better than the book. I usually get disappointed if I read the book first.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Never knew the trivia on Hooper - interesting stuff. I didn't know it was filmed in Australia either.

Funnily enough, we stayed on Amity in Oz and they have the shark warnings.

View attachment 10615

The film was filmed in Massachusetts. Spielberg insisted on using very minimal shots in pools and what have you and most of it was shot in the Atlantic which was a nightmare apparently, but the results were brilliant. The real life great white shark footage used for that scene was from Australia (it may have been New Zealand, can't recall for sure).

Australia is on my bucket list. Sharks are my favorite animal and I've scuba dived with some of the "man eating" species (Tiger sharks, Oceanic white tips). Great Whites are still on my to do list but part of me is terrified.

 

[britbox]

The film was filmed in Massachusetts. Spielberg insisted on using very minimal shots in pools and what have you and most of it was shot in the Atlantic which was a nightmare apparently, but the results were brilliant. The real life great white shark footage used for that scene was from Australia (it may have been New Zealand, can't recall for sure).

Australia is on my bucket list. Sharks are my favorite animal and I've scuba dived with some of the "man eating" species (Tiger sharks, Oceanic white tips). Great Whites are still on my to do list but part of me is terrified.

Loads of Great Whites here mate.

I'm personally an Orca man when it comes to the Oceans. Talking of Jaws, they definitely "jumped the shark" when they had that half-eaten Orca on the beach in one of the sequels (think it was Jaws 2). Orcas are the real apex predator.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Loads of Great Whites here mate.

I'm personally an Orca man when it comes to the Oceans. Talking of Jaws, they definitely "jumped the shark" when they had that half-eaten Orca on the beach in one of the sequels (think it was Jaws 2). Orcas are the real apex predator.

I haven't seen the sequels in forever but I remember that they get increasingly over the top. Orcas are unfortunately, the real apex predators indeed, and have been known to hunt great whites and have in fact forced great whites to migrate from certain areas. They hunt them for their livers only and generally leave the rest of the body intact. Sadistic freaks.