Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I love Murder By Death.

I know what ya mean, everyone shines in this and every time I have a different favorite
This time around it was Maggie Smith

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Look, Dr. Lesh, we don't care about the disturbances, the pounding and the flashing, the screaming, the music. We just want you to find our little girl.

Santa Sangre

Up until about 15 minutes before I embarked upon watching it I had literally never heard of this film. It was pure chance that led me to just stumble across its existence on imdb. I read its description, thought it sounded interesting and decided to give it a shot. And my instincts were rewarded as the end result was a very enjoyable little film. I don't think it's going to change anyone's life but it was good fun.

The most obvious way I can think to pitch this film is to say that it's basically the horror movie equivalent of Last Action Hero or Pleasantville. Where those films concerned a character being transported into the world of bombastic action films and a quaint 1950s sitcom respectively, The Final Girls sees its protagonists enter into the fictional world of a 1980s teen slasher flick; trashy cult film, “Camp Bloodbath”. This means that it has the likes of Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp in its satirical sights. However there is never any sense of malice in the shots that it takes. From the first moment to the last you can feel the great affection that the filmmakers have for the source material. It is certainly more of a loving homage than a piss-take.

Now a couple of weeks prior to viewing this film I watched the highly entertaining Tucker & Dale vs. Evil for the first time, and this film felt very reminiscent of that recent cult favourite. As with T&D, Strauss-Schulson's film is one that has a vast knowledge of the genre tropes with which it's dealing; using them to craft a fun, campy adventure that has a great deal of charm and surprising heart. Though fans of Tucker & Dale will likely be disappointed about the lack of gore on show. Despite its slasher film credentials and the numerous deaths that occur it is a strangely bloodless affair. Given the type of films to which it is paying tribute, the decision not to feature any blood and guts is a strange one. I'm not someone who craves such things but in this instance, their absence does feel odd. I also imagine it will be a mark against the film for big fans of the teen slasher sub genre, and will hamper its hopes of becoming a cult favourite. There are a couple of instances where the film employs CGI to convey some form of brutality; personally I'd have rathered if they'd thrown in some practical effects.

For much of its duration this is a film of fairly simple pleasures. However I've never been someone to consider that much of a negative. The film hits on a number of aspects you'd expect it to. For example it gets a lot of mileage out of the culture clash between the 2010s and the 1980s, while having a lot of fun playing with the character stereotypes of both the films it's paying homage to and just the 80s in general. So amongst the cast of “Camp Bloodbath” you've got the dumb slutty girl, the shy virgin, the douchebag jock, the bitchy mean girl and the cool black guy; well 'cool' by 80s terms which means he comes complete with afro and a boombox. While much of its humour may be predictable, there are a few touches of real creativity and wit which are predominantly found when the characters from the 'real' world encounter elements of filmmaking within "Camp Bloodbath". For example a graphic that details the date and location of a scene becomes a 3D object capable of tripping people up; the introduction of slow motion to proceedings infuriates the victims who are trying to escape their would-be killer; while the use of flashbacks are actually utilised as a weapon of sorts to battle the killer. And as with Wes Craven's Scream, the characters are movie-literate; they know the rules of the genre and attempt to use them to their advantage.

While much of its humour may be predictable, what was much more unexpected however was the very strong emotional thread that the film has going for it. One of the characters in “Camp Bloodbath” was played by the mother of one of the kids (Max) who have now been drawn into this world; and in the real world her mother died in a car crash three years earlier. So you've got Max coming face-to-face with her mother, who isn't really her mother (it's the character, not the actress), unable to tell her that she's her mother. It's a very interesting and novel twist on the themes of dealing with grief and having to let someone go. With Max being given another chance to bid her mother the goodbye that she was robbed of previously it is actually very effective and moving, and played rather beautifully by Akerman and Farmiga. In fact I'd go as far to say that this touch of human drama is actually the strongest element of the entire film, and my personal favourite touch. I certainly would never have predicted that.

The film's young, fresh-faced cast prove to be very game. In fact when you take into account the non A-list nature of its line-up it's an extremely impressive effort. The entire group seem to get what the film is aiming for and really embrace it. The result is a series of highly likeable performances and an ensemble that mesh together very well. And the script serves the cast well, giving each character at least a couple of moments to shine. The biggest name amongst the cast is Malin Akerman who is very warm and engaging. Then there's Adam DeVine, turning in another douchetastic turn in the vein of his character from the Pitch Perfect films. There are then a few individuals that you may well recognise even if you don't know where from. There's Alexander Ludwig who starred in the first Hunger Games film, Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries and Alia Shawkat who starred as Maeby in Arrested Development. However the star turn comes from the completely unknown (at least to me) Taissa Farmiga. Displaying both strength and vulnerability she gives an extremely winning performance you can't help but love. On the stength of this film I can see her being a hot commodity in the upcoming years

I've evoked both Tucker & Dale and Scream in this write-up. While it may come up short of the accomplishments of both of those films, I'd certainly recommend The Final Girls to fans of those respective films, in addition to lovers of the teens at camp slasher movie. In fact I'd be very interested to know what fans of the subgenre make of it.

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A great horror film with some quirks (Ex. several scenes that I believed should have been re-ordered) that prevented a higher score, which is a shame as I expected this to be a , but I can't really give it that.

Great choice Derek!

The Quiet Man

It looks beautiful, that I won't deny - but it's also really sexist and misogynistic. I expected more from Ford, who was a very progressive filmmaker. A few poetic sequences save this from being a bad film. This is the first time a Ford film genuinely disappointed me. Sorry guys.

I am willing to rewatch it years down the line. As it stands though, this is not one of Ford's best.

Bear in mind this was made in 1952, so the roles of men and women are much different than today. I'm no expert on Ford but I do believe he was progressive in some of his views but when it comes to men and women he's old school on that.

You do realize it's a comedy. I can't even try to understand your criticism. It's the quintessential Ford for me, so I guess all his films have those flaws.

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My IMDb page

Really really appreciate that

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I didn't know what to expect with this one, but I had interest due to the chatter on here. I decided to go forward after Derek saw it last night and liked it. I thought Firth was great; I've never seen him like that before. Jackson was a hoot, I loved the female villain, and the kid was cool too. Nice soundtrack and some awesome scenes, especially in the church. I thought it was very entertaining.

definitely agree!! That church scene is awesome Glad you like it Crick !

The Sixth Sense

ho-ly crap, no wonder people were seriously comparing Shyamalan to Spielberg. This is some amazing stuff.

I'm just glad it didn't feature anything on par with that bit in McClintock! where Wayne gives O'Hara a public spanking.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Yeah, it's one of the better Korean action flicks. Bittersweet Life is even better.

foster is a huge fan as well.

The Man From Nowhere IS an excellent movie!!

Did a double feature of Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing in Hammer Production films last night




The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) ++ Cannot remember if I had previously seen this way way back in my youth - it does look familiar - any ole ways, was pretty enjoyable faire. Cushing was his usual brilliance as Victor Frankenstein with Lee bringing more "emotion" to the monster.




Dracula A.D 1972 Another pairing that they were VERY well known for; this time, having killed Dracula in 1872, he his brought back 100 yrs later to wreak vengeance on Van Helsing's descendants. The usual violins of gothic horrors was implemented with jazzy guitars. Which, actually, kinda worked.

So, my watch for this Halloween was a movie very loved around here and that has been on my watchlist for ages. I think I'm going to create some backlash but I really can't see what's the big deal. (Sorry Swan)
Ok, the soundtrack and camera work create a very good atmosphere that works during the first half of the movie, before the killing begins. After that, Michael loses all his dangerous aura and looks just like a robot with a knife. It reminds me of WWE's Undertaker. Cool entrance, but after the fight begins he just gets beaten over and over again, always managing to win somehow.
Also, the acting is pretty horrible, except by Lee Curtis who is only decent but ends up looking like a acting genius when compared to the rest of the cast.



Oh, those 10 seconds in the room were cool, perhaps the only time the atmosphere actually had some practical effect. After that it just got laughable.

P.S.: I recognize the importance of Halloween as the first slasher movie, I just think the genre isn't for me.

Another movie that has been on my watchlist for long. This one is pointed out as one of the best war movies of all time and I can understand why even if wouldn't rank it as high as that.
A very nice casting led by a top form Tom Hanks and a quite interesting plot. The held cameras work very nicely puts the viewer directly in the middle of the action and the chaotic environment with so much death, blood and explosions do the rest. The result is very impressive movie experience with some tear dropping at the end.
However, it fails because it is, as almost every modern Hollywood war movie, too one sided. The German soldiers are evil, America is here to save the world, and that's pretty much it. No Ally troops, no look at the enemy's humanity, almost a complet disregard for the loss of inocent lives except the American ones. The whole hipocrisy of the war, the thing that attracts me the most about war movies, is almost totally hidden.
That of course, doesn't completely ruin what is, in fact, a very entertaining and powerful movie.