Movie Redemption
Films I've watched the first time and disliked or been disappointed with, then on revisiting them later, I've enjoyed or even loved! In no particular order.........
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- DirectorMary HarronStarsChristian BaleJustin TherouxJosh LucasA wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.Didn't get on with this at all at the first view, but rewatched a few years later and on that view I actually SAW the movie and it dawned on me that it was actually a COMEDY and WOW!
Now it's one of my all time faves and Christian Bale's performance is a sheer MASTER CLASS in acting in nearly every way, shape and form!
A multi-genre acting performance all rolled up in one movie, the business card scene and the Huey Lewis and the News scene being particular boons!! - DirectorPeter WeirStarsRussell CrowePaul BettanyBilly BoydDuring the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.This film was mega-hyped in the lead up to it's release, and I'm putting that down as the sole reason I felt utterly disappointed on the first viewing.
So dejected infact, it was many, many years till I gathered up my rum & fiddle and went for a re-watch, and....
"A-hoy there me maties!"
What an utter joy!
Because I wasn't judging it to the hype anymore, which had long since died away, I actually SAW the film properly! Exciting, gripping, very interesting historical period, authentically and thoroughly enjoyable!
I also loved the "The Lesser of Two Weevils" gag at the dinner table......
Most of the films that will feature on this list apply to the equation, movie(m) + hype(h) = disappointment(d) and then a gap[ ] then a re-watch(rw) + zero hype (0h) = enjoyment(e), so I'll just use the equation shorthand for some future additions to the list. - DirectorDeclan LowneyStarsSteve CooganColm MeaneyTim KeyWhen famous DJ Alan Partridge's radio station is taken over by a new media conglomerate, it sets in motion a chain of events which see Alan having to work with the police to defuse a potentially violent siege.As a die hard Partridge-phile, I was absolutely bursting for this coming out.
But on the first viewing I felt it was more "Mid Morning Matters" (MMM) than "I'm Alan Partridge", so I was left feeling empty and very disapointed.
I was also not a fan of "Sidekick Simon" (SS), at the time, as I felt he was a poor replacement for the hilarious "Michael" (who only gets a small cameo in this and doesn't feature at all in later AP releases, such as MMM & This Time With Alan Partridge) expertly played by Simon Greenall.
Thankfully though, I've grown to appreciate SS and Alpha Papa itself!
Again, I presume on the first re-watch, I wasn't judging it to the hype and I now think it's absolutely CLASSIC Partridge (Kiss my face!), with an as usual great performance from Colm Meany.
There are some great gags (Just Sack Pat!), the highlight being AP hiding in Pat's chemical toilet and exclaiming, "Oh God, please let them be firm!" : ) - DirectorSteve BarronStarsKevin PiperRicky TomlinsonMalcolm TerrisThe manager of England's national football unexpectedly succumbs to a heart attack, and suddenly the search is on for a replacement. Most people who seem qualified for the position have the good sense to turn it down, and so the responsibility falls to Mike Bassett, a scruffy and loud-mouthed lout whose claim to football fame is leading a previously undistinguished team to a league championship. Bassett insists that England will win the World Cup under his leadership, but that's before he replaces his star player with a once-gifted footballer who has since developed a drinking problem, and hired a one-time car salesman as his assistant. After stunning losses to Poland and Belgium, Bassett goes from a favorite of both fans and the press to one of the most hated men in England; hoping to whip his team into shape, he subjects them to the high-tech training methods of eccentric Dr. Shoegaarten, which injures more players than it helps. Despite Bassett's ineptitude, England manages to qualify for the World Cup tournament thanks to group opponents Turkey losing their final game, and he flies to Rio with his team in hopes of somehow turning their bad luck around.Same old story, movie, mega hyped, I'm left feeling disappointed, then on the first rewatch, I actually see the film and love it!
m+h=d [ ] rw+0h=e (see Master & Commander).
This film should be shown on cooncil telly on the eve of every World Cup and European Championships! I certainly do!
It's gag upon gag upon gag at break neck speed, amazing.
There's almost way, way to many crackers to pick a particular highlight, but if forced, I'll go for the self depricating (I'm Scottish) Scotland 1 Ethiopia 2 that pops up on a telly and MB's bleep riddled rant at half time, which for me is up there with any of the classic comedy sketches!
Ricky Tomlinson should have won an Oscar for his portrayal of Mr Basset lol! - DirectorJames McTeigueStarsHugo WeavingNatalie PortmanRupert GravesIn a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.This is a weird one, first time I watched it, nope, didn't get on with it. Then much later, perhaps years, re-watched and loved it!
But re-re-watched it a few years on from that and feck me, I thought it was poo again! Go figure!??
I also heard that the author of the graphic novel it's based on, who was there as a consultant, walked out of the filming because he didn't like the direction it was going, so perhaps my first and last opinion is the right one! - DirectorMark AndrewsBrenda ChapmanSteve PurcellStarsKelly MacdonaldBilly ConnollyEmma ThompsonDetermined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.Went to the cinema with the kids for this Disney flick.
It being set in Scotland and having Scottish greats doing voice overs (Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane), it was highly anticipated, despite it ultimately being a children's movie.
And again the afore mentioned equation came into play,
m+h=d [ ] rw+0h=e (see Master & Commander).
Many, many years later started re-watching with my first Grandaughter and thanks to the equation, I really enjoyed it, especially Mr McKidd as Young MacGuffin! - DirectorMark HermanStarsPete PostlethwaiteTara FitzgeraldEwan McGregorThe coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band.On the first viewing I thought this film was terribly boring, but I was blindly watching a film which was seemingly just a Northern English rom-com set within a brass band, yawn!
A few years later I read an article about it and phrases like "politically charged" and miner's strike" were used.
"Oh aye!?" thought I, might have to revisit that one. And thankfully I did, because I had been totally blinkered to the underlying and overt political ideas and message running through this film.
I'm left leaning in my politics and so watching this with a bit more awareness, let me see it with a lot more maturity and it was a lot more than just a "brass band inspired rom-com"! - DirectorStephen DaldryStarsJamie BellJulie WaltersJean HeywoodA talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.Again, much like "Brassed Off", the first time I watched BE, all I saw was a coming of age drama about a boy who discovers the joys(?? I personally despise the formal forms of this particular medium!) of dancing and I'm not sure I even made it all the way through!
And again like BO, I heard through an Uncle that the underlying setting was the miners strikes of the 80's.
So being a bit older and debatably more mature, I rewatched and saw a great movie highlighting not only BE's personal struggles, but the general struggles of the working class fighting against the worlds ultimate wicked witch and her legions of violent apes, Thatcher! - DirectorJim AbrahamsStarsCharlie SheenCary ElwesValeria GolinoA parody of Top Gun (1986) in which a talented but unstable fighter pilot must overcome the ghosts of his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers.Hot Shots! is an archetypal equation movie!
m+h=d [ ] rw+0h=e (see Master & Commander).
At the first time, on seeing this, after all the hype the disappointment was palpable! ALL the funny bits had seemed to be contained in the trailer!
I felt conned, cheated and violated!
But after at least a biannual break, I felt vindicated at rewatching, because the movie was hilarious from start to finish!
And just like it's big brothers (Airplane, Naked Gun) the gags were many and very, very funny!
Maybe not quite as classicly recognised as the afore mentioned big two, but it's very much so there or there abouts, with Lloyd Bridges effortlessly stepping into the great Leslie Nielson's shoes! - DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerAfter 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud, and Begbie.The hype for this was vomit inducingly way, way over the top, so it took me a while to even watch it for a first time.
Now if you've read Welsh's "Trainspotting" and "Porno" you'll know that Danny Boyle takes a machette to both books and cuts most of the story to shreds. But with "Trainspotting" it seemed to work really well and you get a funny, stylish, coherent tale of 'Embra debauchery and self indulgence and even though most of the characters are truly awful people, you built up a rapport with them and you find yourself all to readily disposed to empathise with most of them (perhaps not Begby!).
Unfortunately though with "T2T" on my first watch, the equation, m+h=d [ ] rw+0h=e (see Master & Commander) was in full swing, plus times a thousand!
My anti-hype prejudices simply ruined the film, I thought it a money grabbing waste of everybodies time and speaking of time, it certainly had done the actors involved absolutely no favours! I was also a bit peeved knowing that Kevin McKidd(Tommy) would be out the picture as the character died in the first film!
But, thanks to the yin and the yang of the equation, when I went back to the movie, it grew and grew on me, to the point where the scene in the "Rangers" (Sevco) supporters club with "Renton" and "Sickboy" having to start up an impromptu anticatholic tune is now one of my favorite movie scenes and the brilliant punchline being, that all the Current Bun's pin numbers are 1690!
Absolute class! - DirectorGuy RitchieStarsGerard ButlerTom WilkinsonIdris ElbaWhen a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, drawing in the entire London underworld into a feeding frenzy at a time when the old criminal regime is losing turf to a wealthy foreign mob.One of the few films on this list where the auld equation plays no part.
On my first viewing I tended to, for once, agree with the good doctor, Mark Kermode and found it seemed to be just another "cockney geezaa" flick (staay aaway from the waaota!"), only missing Danny Dyer and Tamer Hussein!
Infact the only actors from "RnR" I was really familiar with at the time were, Gerard Butler, Thandiwe Newton, Idris Elba and Matt King - "Super Hans" from "Peep Show" and I've always been slightly suspicious of movies that contain either soap stars or sitcom regulars!
So as time went by between first and second viewings, I was watching much more movies with the likes of Mark Strong (brilliant in Body Of Lies and The Guard), Tom Wilkinson (Tip top in Valkyrie, 44 Inch Chest), Tom Hardy (Layer Cake, Inception), Karel Roden (The Butcher of Prague, 15 Minutes), and the brilliant Toby Kebble (Dead Man's Shoes, Kongs/Apes).
So despite Guy Ritchie blotting his copy book with "Revolver" and because of the coming to prominence of the afore mentioned actors, I decided to revisit it, and thank the Lords of movie heaven that I did!
It all just seemed to fit perfectly and I couldn't believe I hadn't liked it from the get go!
It was like watching a completely new film, it was funny, witty, stylish and had a great soundtrack too. It even had what seems now to be the obligatory nod to the nightclub "dancing scene" from "Scarface" involving Butler & Newton.
There's many great scenes, but a particular favorite for me was when GB is lying on his bed, eyes closed and listening to music through headphones and when he opens them, the two Russian ex special force mobsters whom he had robbed several times previously are standing over him grinning like wolves in the sheep pen, with a very sharp hunting knife!
"Daddy was a bank robber!" Outstanding! - DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal KilmerA group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.Again, because of all the De Niro/Pacino sharing scenes for the first time hype surrounding this movie, I was overly excited about it and couldn't wait for it's release and inevitably, thanks to our old friend, m+h=d [ ] rw+0h=e (see Master & Commander) I was not only disappointed, but I thought the film in general was poor.
Really, if you're gonna do a "bank robber" or "heist" movie, you better have some extraordinary plot twist ("Inside Man"? "The Bank Job"?) or at least have something newish to bring to the table (Now You See Me?) as they've all been done before and probably been done better by someone else, somewhere along the line, in that particular genre.
This however, for me had neither, I suppose they thought the afore mentioned actorial duet was enough and maybe for the shitmunchers it was, but at the time, certainly not for me.
I found it boring & unimaginative and it just seemed to completely lack any spark and just dolefully plod along as if it were wailing,
"Wooaaah! - let's - get - this - over -and - done - with - so - we - can - just - get - to - the - f***ing - pub - PLEASE!"
All I wanted to do was take this lugubrious creature up a dark alley and put a bullet in the back of it's miserable head and thus rendering the poor thing out of it's eternal misery!
Now, it was only a mere year or two ago that I actually found the courage for a rewatch, so with a healthy twenty four years or so under my belt, I gave it another bash.
I wouldn't put it in the "I now love it!" bracket in any way shape or form, but I did enjoy it somewhat and I certainly didn't feel any of the misery I suffered the first time around!
It's also still quite amusing in a schadenfreude kind of way, seeing Tom Sizemore in movies that were made before he went completely mad with the auld drugs/drink and sex addictions! - DirectorNeil BurgerStarsBradley CooperAnna FrielAbbie CornishA mysterious pill that enables the user to access 100% of his brain's abilities transforms a struggling writer into a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with many dangers.When I first saw this I found it to be infested with Illuminati iconography and phraseology which blind sided me to anything else held within this flick, story, plot etc.
I have long since ceased to care about such things, whether they were real or imagined.
So, on my second viewing, which was ironically while coming down from drugs, I fooking loved it!
I didn't even notice any of the afore mentioned idealogical pitfalls, but instead saw a stylish and inventive rollercoaster of a ride also with a great soundtrack (Ash Grunwald's - "Walking" is now an integral part of any of my musical playlists!).
Like any great or indeed "guilty pleasure" movie, I have since watched it back many times. - DirectorCharles McDougallStarsCiarán McMenaminBarry MullanPaul CampbellSunday tells the story of an infamous day in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland and how the events of that day were subsequently covered up by the British Government of the time. On Sunday 30th January 1972 a peaceful civil rights march against internment (imprisonment without trial), organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) ended with 13 marchers shot dead and 15 wounded. It became known throughout the world as Bloody Sunday. Told primarily from the perspective of the Derry community, juxtaposed with the British Army/state's preparations and reaction to the day, Sunday communicates the forensic and emotional truth of what happened.Unfortunately for this film, as is often the case when two movies about the same subject are released, often within months of each other (Centurion/The Eagle, Tombstone/Wyatt Earp, The Prestige/The Illusionist, to name but a few), there is often one of the two perceived to be the superior (for me, by a long way, The Eagle, Tombstone & The Prestige).
This particular flick, about the murder of forteen innocent civil rights protesters by Brit paratroopers that took place in Derry in 1972 and the subsequent cover up, was competing against the fantastically brilliant but frighteningly harrowing "Bloody Sunday"(BS) starring James Nesbitt.
I can't really remember which one I saw first, I just recall watching both in the same w'end.
BS blew me away (pardon the pun), so I'm not 100% sure if that was the reason I just couldn't take to Sunday at the time.
Where as BS seemed terrifyingly real, almost as if it was filmed by multiple camcorders, but still keeping it's excellent production values, I felt Sunday just came across as flat and everything seemed to be a struggle.
In the intervening years, I've watched BS many times, loving it each and every time, always meaning to revisit Sunday, but never getting round to it.
Well I eventually did last year (thanks Covid and lockdown!) and I was rather pleased as I enjoyed it immensely.
Without any inferiority prejudices, I would conclude that Sunday is just as good as Bloody Sunday - DirectorNeil MarshallStarsMichael FassbenderDominic WestOlga KurylenkoA splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack.On the first watch I found this movie to be generic and very much by the numbers. A prime example being the obligatory "love interest" they found for Michael Fassbender.
Why do script writers feel the need to put a love story sub plot in nearly every picture? I personally find it bizarre and I wish they wouldn't, but one of the few examples of the opposite happening, is this film's 9th Legion twin "The Eagle" (even though a contemporary of mine reckons there's a bromance going on with Jamie Bell and Channing Tatum!? I don't get that myself at all).
Fortunately on a rewatch many years later, I did find myself contentedly enjoying it! - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsLeonardo DiCaprioBrad PittMargot RobbieA faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.On my maiden viewing, I didn't get on with this QT marathon at all. I kinda figured though, that that was due to me not really understanding it and that ultimately led me to think it was utterly pointless.
So to get a better understanding I read Helter Skelter, loved the book and so rewatched OUATIH and hey presto! totally understood it and loved it! - StarsScott GrimesDamian LewisRon LivingstonThe story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.I found this was more "Saving Private Ryan" (which I'm not overly keen on) than "The Longest Day" on my first couple of attempts.
As a person who despises "Friends" and all things related, I also had the prejudice of disliking David Schwimmer, but as I grew into BOB, he really started to fit the despicable character he portrays and any such prejudices eventually evaporated.
I've now watched this many times and particularly enjoy the episodes where they liberate Kaufering concentration camp and when they take The Berghof at Berchtesgaden, Bavaria. - DirectorJon S. BairdStarsJames McAvoyJamie BellEddie MarsanA corrupt, junkie cop with bipolar disorder attempts to manipulate his way through a promotion in order to win back his wife and daughter while also fighting his own inner demons.On seeing this when it first came out, I wasn't overly impressed. The character of Bruce Robertson (BR) was just too despicably vile for my tastes and I wasn't sure I fully understood the point of his creation. I also find James McAvoy a bit hit or miss when it comes to his performances.
Well several years later and I wanted to read Irvine Welsh's "Crime" before I watched the new drama starring Dougray Scott. But "Crime" it appeared was a follow up to "Filth", so I had to read that first and my goodness, the BR of the movie is positively a saint compared to the irredeemable and horribly corrupt, racist, misogynistic, psychotic sociopathic BR contained within the pages of the book!
The BR character in the film also finds a bit of redemption at the end of the movie, whereas the book BR is completely and utterly beyond recall!
So taking everything into account and a new found relief of redemption, I found "Filth" entertaing and very witty with a strong cast to back it up! - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.Maybe I just wasn't in the mood when I first sat down to watch this, as I had to put it off after about 20mins.
Fast forward several years later and strangely enough, I found it riveting and certainly engaging.
Apart from the obvious pitfalls of being a "love in" of the "white saviour" and a propensity to over simplify Lincoln's reasons for ending slavery, I rather enjoyed it!