Movie Tab II [Archive] - Page 48

42ndStreetFreak

10-09-09, 03:14 PM

"Triumph of the Will" 3

Leni Riefenstahl’s highly controversial documentary of the Nazi’s pre-war show of power and pomp is a rare beast indeed.
It is a film that is at once lauded by the great and the mighty in the film world, has been of untold influence in the way later movies (be they documentary of fiction) have been filmed and regularly rates up there as a triumph of it’s own.

And yet at the same time it is often vilified, loathed, seen as a threat (it is still banned in Germany itself outside of scholarly study), seen as a glorification of evil and even dismissed as not even being a documentary at all.

Leni Riefenstahl was asked by Hitler to record his 1934, four day conference/rally in Nuremberg and she was offered assistance and help above and beyond anything seen in a documentary before or since. Even the Luftwaffe had to lose a few searchlights to illuminate Hitler’s ranks.
Whatever your view the technical and artistic mastery seen (often for the first time) in “Triumph of the Will” is something to be admired.

The use of stage managed multiple takes, multiple cameras, shooting from trenches to make the below eye-level close-ups of Hitler look more heroic, exact framing, employment of a telephoto lens, arial tracking shots and clever editing in of specific close-ups to enhance and personalise the grand spectacle are all techniques new to most movies of that time let alone documentaries.
And when put together these techniques help make “Triumph” a far more potent experience, despite its subject matter having a certain powerful fascination and grandeur in itself.
As it is Richard Wagner provides much of the soundtrack.

“Triumph” opens with Hitler arriving by plane.
And even this early on we see the influence the film would have decades later as we are reminded of a similar sweeping through the clouds reveal that Ridley Scott used to introduce the splendour of Rome in “Gladiator”, a full 65 years later.

This opening is blatant in it’s sensory and even spiritual manipulation as Riefenstahl offers up a sort of reversed trip to Heaven.
Instead of going up through the clouds to paradise, we go down through the clouds to paradise; The paradise of a new Nazi Germany.
Here the clouds part to reveal not the kingdom of a celestial God, but the kingdom of a far more Earthly God, eve if it is in the shape of an Austrian megalomaniac.

Adoring crowds cheer as Hitler alights from his plane. And as his staff car rides the meticulously planned route Riefenstahl shoots from the car to capture the adoring hordes that line the road (all re-staged carefully later). Women bring flowers to Hitler and even their cherubic Daughters are carried forward to meet their Fuhrer, to touch his hand and drink-in his power and strength.
Much of course cynically stage managed.

We then see hundreds upon hundreds of strapping, lean, German men and boys sharing a communal wash, larking about with water hoses, holding playful wrestling matches and games of stamina and one-upmanship.
The message is a clear one; A strong, healthy, loyal, band of comrades that will not only be the bedrock of the new Germany but its way of ensuring that this new Germany will not be humiliated by anyone ever again.

From the lauding of the massed German youth, her pretty girls, her playful young boys on her green fields and her pseudo-army of workers we are given a brief glimpse of the actual army itself (a rare glimpse much to the annoyance of the Generals at the time, as cunningly Hitler knows how to keep the spotlight on himself, his cause and to keep the threats veiled) on their well groomed steeds of flesh and blood and their newly minted steeds of iron.
A potent mixture of past glory and modern power.

During the night-time rally, as the dying fire in the sky is bolstered by the flickering of Nazi torches and spotlights, the camera takes in the mass upon mass of gleaming standards and swastika flags as it winds its way around the multitude of uniformed ranks as they “Sieg Heil” their leader, who himself stands proudly upon a glowing, tiered edifice with it’s gigantic Nazi eagle in the background, spreading its wings around this seeming saviour of the German people.

As the morning dawns we can see the true scale of the massed ranks.
Thousands upon thousands of regimented troops, and party members standing in strictly defined squares, each holding a swastika flag.

Away from the actual rally the next biggest sequence is the marching of the soldiers through the town as block upon block of armed troops, black clad SS brigades, military bands and standard bearers parade along streets thronged with saluting, waving, cheering crowds and where every house has people hanging out of its windows.
A perfect visual mixture of the ordinary citizen, the soldier and the political elite coming together in a unified shout of pride and togetherness as Germans.

The film ends with the famous end of rally conference where Hitler is surrounded by his entire group of infamy, including the newly empowered Himmler who would see his beloved SS dominate not only the horrific tales of the battlefield but also, along with the Gestapo, the everyday lives of German themselves as well as the lives (or lack thereof) of those in the soon to be conquered lands.
Around 150,000 SS and SA members fill this massive building, itself a sort of cathedral to National Socialism, to listen to Hitler’s speech about German power, Nazi solidarity and strength and the iron will of the German people.

It’s certainly sobering to know that this self-confidence, exaltation, arrogance and unbridled hope and joy would, in less than 10 years, be on the brink of ruin and desolation.

As the film ends, with the faithful singing out that damn catchy standard of Nazi power "Horst-Wessel-Lied" (“Raise High the Flag”, itself to become a fixture in many movies featuring the Nazis in power) we can openly think of what was to come.
Even more so that what has just passed before us.

Much like we can only imagine what it must have been like coming to Hitchcock’s “Psycho” knowing absolutely nothing about what will happen, we can only imagine what it must have been like for people, before any war had happened, watching “Triumph of the Will”.

As such we can’t truly judge the film in that way, with it’s original place in history untainted by its future to be. A future that will become one of the darkest parts of our history.
Riefenstahl claimed that she was naïve about the Nazis, Hitler and what National Socialism really meant for Germany when she made “Triumph” and swore she had no knowledge of Hitler's genocidal policies.
Whatever the truth, her film will forever be seen as the biggest, proudest, grandest and most skilful glorification of one of mankind’s greatest evils.

And moreover, perhaps the best damn Nazisploitation film ever made come to that.

Classicqueen13

10-09-09, 08:36 PM

Her Alibi (1989)
A pretty goofy comedy but plenty of laughs. The acting isn't anything to brag about. The plot is kind of crazy, but it works out well. Not exactly one that will be well-remembered, but it is a good time.

Overall: 3.5

Hudson Hawk (1991)
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Bruce Willis should stick to acting rather than writing in movies. While I can't quite place what it was I liked about this movie, I think it was the overall fun mood of it. The movie itself was pretty ridiculous but I found myself laughing hard through a few parts. Not a high-quality film, but I was at the very least entertained.

Overall: 3

Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
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A classic Tennessee Williams drama wonderfully brought to life. Top-notch acting as you would probably expect. A great script and storyline. It seemed a tad slow-paced for me, but I enjoyed it up till the end, which turned out to be quite suspenseful. Even a few things in the plot you can figure out for yourself. To top it off, Paul Newman looks amazing in this one.

Overall: 3.5

The Patriot (2000)
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A terrific war epic. The acting is tremendous and its a touching story. I found Jason Issacs to play a remarkably evil villian. I couldn't wait to seem him pay. There were a few moments of pure tension. When Tavington is searching the plantation, out of over 20 kids in my class, there was not a sound in the room. I've always heard good things about this one and I understand why.

Overall: 4

mark f

10-09-09, 10:54 PM

We have a discussion about Triumph of the Will right here (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=16355&highlight=triumph).

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Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten (Julian Temple, 2007) 3

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In-depth, heartfelt valentine to Clash co-founder Joe Strummer with an incredible amount of video of not only Clash concerts and practicing but also of Strummer with his wife and daughters. There are also many interviews with some of Strummer's best friends and admirers, including Steve Buscemi, Johnny Depp, Bono, Jim Jarmusch, Flea, John Cusack, Matt Dillon, Joe Ely, Anthony Kiedis, Tymon Dogg, etc. We also get plenty of anecdotes from the Clash members (Topper Headon and Mick Jones are especially forthcoming) and a wonderful spontaneous "reunion" of Strummer with Mick Jones performing "White Riot" in front of a humongous crowd. Strummer's work and life are thoroughly covered, including his stints in the 101ers, Clash, Pogues, Mescaleros, his film composing and his acting. I'm a big fan and I was hooked from the get-go, but it's really interesting for anyone who has lived during the last 30 years and has paid any attention to pop culture and how certain things which may seem "insignificant" are just so important to so many people.

The Black Swan (Henry King, 1942) 3+

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I've always loved this movie and this is the lowest rating I've ever given it, so maybe I've just watched it too many times. It's certainly my vote for the best pirate movie of the '40s. From Tyrone Power melting ice princess Maureen O'Hara to Laird Cregar's imposing Captain Morgan to George Sanders in a hilarious turn as a rival pirate captain and Anthony Quinn as his henchman, and let's not forget Thomas Mitchell as a loyal aide-de-camp to both Power and Cregar; the cast is excellent. The Ben Hecht script is witty and crammed with action and romance. Even the requisite "bath tub F/X" are done well with beautiful Oscar-winning Leon Shamroy color cinematography. In fact, this is one of the few American films made in the '40s where a man and woman (unmarried, yet!) are seen in bed together with neither one having a foot on the floor. :cool: Power and O'Hara have to pose as lovers to protect her from George Sanders who wants to take her as his own, so he constantly creeps into her bed chamber to make sure of their relationship. Power is actually sleeping in a makeshift hammock but hops into her bed whenever he hears the door creak open. (You've got to see it to see how entertaining the whole thing is.) Remember, "I always sample a bottle of wine before I buy it. Let's have a sip and see if you're worth taking along."

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum! aka Hallelujah, I'm a Tramp! (for our British friends with cultured sensibilities :cool:) (Lewis Milestone, 1933) 2.5+

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This was the first time I've seen this offbeat musical, and I have the feeling I may raise my rating with added viewings. It's set during the Depression where Bumper (Al Jolson) plays a tramp who's known as The Mayor of Central Park. His best buddy is Acorn (Eddie Connor), and Bumper constantly has political and economic discussions with a Marxist trashman named Egghead (silent comic Harry Langdon). Now the thing is that Bumper has another good friend in the actual Mayor of New York (Frank Morgan) who gives him money on a daily basis. The real Mayor has a beautiful lover named June (Madge Evans) who eventually attempts suicide when she feels that their relationship is doomed, but she's saved by Bumper who doesn't know who she is and now she's got amnesia to boot! This is the basic set-up of a sweet, funny romantic comedy with lots of songs and rhyming dialogue from Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. On first glance and listen, it's not nearly as strong as the team's classic Love Me Tonight the year before, but it's very inventive, and I love the way the characters have absolutely no intention of getting a real job because they seem to know that they will lose all chance at happiness if they do. Milestone keeps things watchable, but he always was one of the most visual and visceral of the early talkie directors. My main complaint, I guess, is that the film isn't longer.

Compulsion (Richard Fleischer, 1959) 3.5

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This is another film version detailing the true-life Leopold and Loeb case which is also documented in Hitch's Rope and Swoon, among other films. Two rich teenage Chicago college students, Steiner [Leopold] (Dean Stockwell) and Strauss [Loeb] (Bradford Dillman), are out for as many thrills as possible, and since Steiner says that he wants Strauss to "command" him, things get well out of hand soon enough when they murder a boy and leave him naked, covered with acid and in a ditch. The problem is that somehow Steiner left his glasses at the crime scene. The District Attorney (E.G. Marshall) does his best to break all the boys' alibis and when he proves successful, the boys' families hire famous attorney Jonathan Wilk [Clarence Darrow] (Orson Welles) to plead the case against capital punishment in a strategic manner during the trial. Although the film begins slightly awkwardly, the basic story and acting soon make it highly-watchable, and then the final third of the movie has Orson Welles reciting an elegantly-condensed version of Darrow's argument against capital punishment which remains to me one of the finest such arguments and one of the best speeches in film history (unfortunately, it's not on YouTube). That argument, as well as Welles' killer final line, make the film something more than simple entertainment.

Day of the Outlaw (Andre De Toth, 1959) 2

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That poster is one of the two best things about the film, even though nothing remotely resembling it occurs in the flick. The other "best" thing is the wonderful outdoor cinematography by Russell Harlan in the snow in beautiful B&W which takes up the final half hour of this disappointing film. The cast and journeyman director lead me to believe that the film would be much better, but the first hour is somewhat tentative even though there's almost some violence just at the time that Burl Ives shows up with his murderous "gang" in the middle of the nowhere where all the other characters happen to be. Robert Ryan, who seems to be the Bad Guy during the beginning of the flick turns into the hero, but the first hour pales compared to that outdoor stretch with all the "Bad Guys" being led away by Ryan through the snowy mountains. Even so, this section is just too predictable for me to cut it too much slack, but the film does have a good reputation, and the photography in the last half hour does need to be seen by any serious fan of outdoor B&W cinematography.

Miss Vicky

10-10-09, 03:26 AM

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Soldier's Girl (2003)

I was really quite shocked by the quality of this film. Based on true events, this moving and very well acted film tells the story of Private Barry Winchell, a young soldier who fell in love with a transgendered performer and paid for it with his life. The love story is very touching and is handled with a great deal of sensitivity as is the subject of transgendered people in general. There's not much camp to be found here, no jokes about boys in drag. Just people, love and hate.

4.5

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Terminal Invasion (2002)

Pretty typical Bruce Campbell flick. Crappy acting + stupid plot + terrible "special effects" usually equal bad movie, but when you add Bruce to the mix, you still get something bad, but awesome at the same time.

3+

42ndStreetFreak

10-10-09, 12:41 PM

The Patriot;

When Tavington is searching the plantation, out of over 20 kids in my class, there was not a sound in the room. I've always heard good things about this one and I understand why.

Class?! I hope you informed your class that Isaac's beastly Englishman never actually burnt people alive in a building.
History this is not...Mel's desperate plea to be classed as an American it most definately is.

Classicqueen13

10-10-09, 01:00 PM

Class?! I hope you informed your class that Isaac's beastly Englishman never actually burnt people alive in a building.
History this is not...Mel's desperate plea to be classed as an American it most definately is.

No, we all knew it was put in for the movie. We were supposed to compare the actual events to modern media.

42ndStreetFreak

10-10-09, 01:17 PM

No, we all knew it was put in for the movie. We were supposed to compare the actual events to modern media.

Excellent. I don't mind being a beastly Englishman (I am one) but I only like to be classed as beastly for the beastly things I've actually done.
:p

Wish we had movie classes when I was at school. :(

Used Future

10-10-09, 06:28 PM

I've seen loads of movies since my last tab so I'll try and keep these brief...

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Savage Streets (Danny Steinmann, 1984) 2.5+
It's a shame you're not double jointed, because you wont be able to bend over and kiss your ass goodbye before I kill you.

Exorcist star Linda Blair goes postal after her deaf sister (played by scream queen Linnea Quigley) is gang raped, and her best friend murdered by a vicious street gang (who all dress like they just got back from a Billy Idol concert). Cue an incredibly hammy melange of Death Wish and Class of 1984 as Blair camps it up in Razzie award winning style. Slow and cliched; Savage Streets takes an age to get to the revenge fuelled action, but Blair is so gleefully over the top, that it remains highly watchable. I really enjoyed this one and recommend it to anyone who likes vigilante movies and 80's cheese. Plus If you want to see Linda Blair naked in the bath then this is definitely the film for you.

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Macabre (Lamberto Bava, 1980) 3+
Bernice Stegers gives a seductively manic performance as a housewife who loses her husband in a car crash and proceeds to keep his rotting severed head in the fridge so she can make love to it. Her blind landlord's suspicions are are soon aroused along with her estranged (and decidedly evil) daughter who begin to hear her 'noises' at night. Underrated film from Lamberto Bava is a complex slow burner which cleverly plays on themes of sexual repression, incest, and necrophilia with often blackly comic results. Some say this is uneventful and boring, but I found Stegers' performance, and the complex relationships on offer ample compensation for the lethargic pacing.

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Hard Times (Walter Hill, 1975) 4
Wonderful period action film from Hill with Charles Bronson perfectly cast as Chaney; a strong silent type who drifts into depression era New Orleans looking to make some fast money on the street fighting circuit. Ready to take advantage is Speed (James Coburn) a fast talking promoter with a gambling habit. This is highly entertaining stuff, with an authentic period feel, perfect pacing and likable three dimensional characters. The fight scenes are fantastic and the story involving. I'll be looking to pick this up on dvd. Highly recommended

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Sole Survivor (Thom Eberhardt, 1983) 2.5+
TV producer Denise (Anita Skinner) is the sole survivor of a plane crash but gets stalked by eerie figures who appear to want her dead. Throw into the mix a concerned doctor-come-lover, and a psychic friend who warned her not to take the flight, and you have an intriguing mixture of Carnival of Souls and Final Destination. Despite the interesting premise, Eberhardt's treatment is sadly a little plodding, and the editing (especially at the beginning of the movie) is somewhat confusing. On the plus side it's well acted, with some well crafted suspense sequences and a satisfyingly downbeat ending. Worth a look.

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The Witch Who Came from the Sea (Matt Cimber, 1976) 2.5
Genuine oddity with Millie Perkins (who reminded me a lot of Miranda July) excellent as an ethereal kook with a murderous vendetta against good looking men. Sporting incredibly eccentric dialogue, dreamlike flashback sequences and an all round air of the strange; this often confusing film ties everything together with a disturbing final revelation, but takes an age to get there, and feels very pretentious. Still, I liked the weird seaside atmosphere, crazy dialogue, and arthouse/exploitation aesthetic. A genuine, if rather unsatisfying original.

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All the Colors of the Dark (Sergio Martino, 1972) 3
A big improvement on the lackluster Torso; Martino's heady mixture of giallo and horror plays like a cross between Rosemary's Baby and Lucio Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin. Beautiful giallo regular Edwige Fenech plays a young woman recovering from a car accident (in which she lost her unborn child) who believes she's being inducted into a murderous satanic cult. There's a sinister blue eyed man stalking her with seemingly malicious intent, and she's frequently plagued by psychedelic visions of her mother's murder (or is it her own?). At first everyone (including her love interest played by fellow giallo regular George Hilton) thinks she's losing the plot confusing fantasy with reality. But then people start turning up dead, and elements of her 'episodes' begin to manifest themselves physically. With much better pacing, and a decent central performance from Fenech, I found All the Colors of the Dark to be lots of fun. Especially impressive is Marino's use of colour saturated lighting and dramatic shadows often reminiscent of Mario Bava. The suspense, particularly a sequence involving an elevator, is handled effectively, and there's the usual helping of glamorous female flesh on offer. Good fun.

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The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (Sergio Martino, 1971) 2.5+
Lisa Baumer (Ida Galli) stands to inherit one million dollars after her husband is blown up on a plane. Off she goes to Greece to collect her fortune, but is pursued by Peter Lynch (George Hilton again); an investigator for the insurance company who think she may have something to do with her husband's death. Soon however, there's a murderer on the loose with a penchant for knives and fishing gear. Enter into the fray French photojournalist Cleo (Anita Strindberg), and various law enforcement officials, as true to style, things become decidedly convoluted and bloody. I found this to be a derivative, but entertaining giallo, with stylistic nods to Argento's The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (the killer's choice of outfits) and Hitchcock's Psycho (the first of the film's dramatic plot twists). Whist there's nothing really remarkable about the film, it does make sense, the murders are very gruesome, there's an energetic jazzy score from Bruno Nicolai, and Strindberg looks suitably glamorous. I loved it, but this is really only for genre fans.

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Bad Ronald (Buzz Kulick, 1974 TV) 3+
Scott Jacoby is Ronald; a bullied mommy's boy and loner who lives in his own fantasy world of elves and goblins. After he accidentally kills one of his tormentors (a young girl); he panics and buries the body which is subsequently discovered by the police. Fearful he can no longer claim it was an accident; his mother (the wonderful Kim Hunter) decides to wall up a room in the house and hide him. Their plan works until Ronald's mother dies suddenly, leaving him alone in his hideaway as a new family moves in. Whilst the production values never rise above TV movie trappings, the story is very involving, and Jacoby is excellent as the well meaning Ronald, doomed to insanity. I didn't really find this scary (or credible - why didn't anyone spot that a large room was walled up?); but with such a great story, and at a mere 74 minutes this proved to be an entertaining distraction. It reminded me a lot of shows like The Twilight Zone, and Tales of the Unexpected which is a good thing.

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What Have They Done to Your Daughters? / Don't Ask the Police for Help (Massimo Dallamano, 1974) 2.5
Dallamano's follow up (not sequel) to his celebrated giallo What Have You Done to Solange? is a complete change of pace. Instead of the lethargic stately pacing of Solange; Daughters is more of a fast paced (yet talky) Poliziotteschi with giallo undertones. Police investigate the suicide of a young girl and uncover evidence of a teenage prostitution ring. In the meantime a crash helmet wearing killer proceeds to bump off everyone connected to the case with a meat cleaver. It's just as sleazy as it sounds with police and political corruption all figuring in the subsequent mayhem which badly lacks a sense of humour. Daughters is well made enough with a nice minimalist score from Stelvio Cipriani, and some decent chase sequences involving said biker, but the grim tone grates when compared to similar offerings.

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Frightmare (Pete Walker, 1974) 3.5
Sheila Keith is wonderfully deranged as a supposedly 'cured' cannibal who, along with her husband (Rupert Davies), has been released from a mental institution after fifteen years. Soon her daughter from a previous marriage Jackie (Deborah Fairfax) suspects she's up to her old tricks again, and enlists the help of her psychiatrist boyfriend (Paul Greenwood) to investigate. Proving a further hindrance is Jackie's unruly sister Debbie (Kim Butcher) who's been involved in a murder, and may know more about their mother than she's letting on. Well written tale, is superbly played by all ensemble, but Keith is sensationally creepy as the cannibalistic mother who just can't help herself. Clearly made on the cheap, Walker does an excellent job of cranking up the tension culminating with the inevitable bloodbath and family revelations. Very much of it's time stylistically, though the plot could have been written yesterday; Frightmare is an excellent horror film that pretty much ticked all my boxes.

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Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984) 3.5-
Giallo American style with De Palma back in Dressed to Kill mode with the usual nods to Hitchcock (Rear Window) and Argento (Tenebre). Here Craig Wasson plays a dim witted struggling actor with claustrophobia who witnesses a murder after using a telescope to spy on an attractive neighbour (Deborah Shelton). Soon he's hooking up with porn star Holly Body (the lovely Melanie Griffith on top form) who may know the identity of the killer. Delightfully trashy and sleazy; this has the usual blend of elaborately staged set pieces, punctuated by one gory killing and a somewhat predictable ending. Very eighties and very watchable, I enjoyed this immensely; though it's not in the same league as Dressed to Kill.

Other stuff I watched...

Return of Sister Street Fighter (Shigehiro Ozawa, 1974) 2
A distinct step down; this third installment uses exactly the same plot again, whilst forgoing the gore and excitement of previous entries.

Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist (Shigehiro Ozawa, 1976) 2
Completely unrelated film has Shihomi playing a different character who also has rotten luck when it come to family members getting bumped off. Pretty forgettable.

mark f

10-10-09, 06:47 PM

Wow! I haven't seen Bad Ronald since it premiered on ABC 35 years ago, and it's been almost as long since I've seen Hard Times and The Witch Who Came From the Sea.

42ndStreetFreak

10-10-09, 06:49 PM

Glad you liked "Frightmare". It is a good 'un and Keith is amazing (as always).

TheUsualSuspect

10-11-09, 02:38 AM

The Invention Of Lying

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In a world where everyone must tell the truth, one man after being fired and almost evicted is pushed to the limits. His brain does something abnormal, he tells a lie. Not just any lie, the world's first lie. Since no one in this universe has ever heard a lie before, they take it as fact. Now this man has the world at his feet.

It is a clever concept, a clever and more massive spin on Liar Liar, yet that might not be such a good thing. The premise of this film is funny, but it becomes too much of itself and is tiresome after a while. The joke goes on and on, he tells lies, people believe him. In one scene a lie gets him in too deep to dig himself back up and that's where the conflict in this film comes in. Yet one can ask themselves a simple question, why not just lie his way out of it, instead of digging deeper holes.

Gervais is at the lead again, after his feel good comedy Ghost Town, which people decided to skip. This time around he's also behind the camera, yet nothing technical about this film pops out, it plays out like an average comedy, relying on it's one concept. The one concept gets some laughs here and there, but there are never any really laugh out loud moments.

The film has some emotional scenes, that influence the rest of the film. The comedy kind of takes a second step to the theme of religion. Some people may find this irritating. Jennifer Garner plays the romantic lead, who finds Gervais fat and with a stubby nose, not a good match genetically for a marriage and children. Yet they form a friendship, one in which Gervais hopes will blossom into something more. Does it? Well, how do romantic comedies usually work out? Here the outcome doesn't seem too believable. Things happens and people react without really knowing why, this leaves little for character arc.

How do people live in a world with no lies? Well, when you want to watch a film, you go to the theatre. In that theatre you'll see a guy sitting in a chair reciting history. Since, movies are mostly fiction, no one can make one, cause it would be a lie. See where this film goes? A retirement home becomes "A place where old people go to die", so on and so on.

The film does have some really funny cameos. It's mostly the usual comedy round, but there is at least one in which I was so caught off guard that I just couldn't help but laugh. Look out for a cop. Jonah Hill and Louis C.K. play two supporting character, neither are funny.

The film is funny, but not enough to warrant a theatre viewing. This has rental written all over it. It simply cannot stand on it's concept for too long, because it becomes a bit dull. If it were a short, I could enjoy it more.

2.5

Golgot

10-11-09, 08:44 AM

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1626/departed2preview.jpg

The Departed

Some dancing dialogue, a typically scene-snorting turn by Nicholson, a contrastingly harried descent by Di Caprio, & lots of Scorsese gloss and flow means this feels like an original take. It's been a long time since i saw Infernal Affairs, which i liked, but inevitably it still coloured my viewing. The twists have most of their impact muted etc, although they're executed well.

Di Caprio was almost Tony Leung good, which is saying summat. Damon, altho very fitting in his frat-boy-ish turn at first, lost his way a bit for me. I still felt some emotion for the guy, but he wasn't convincing me in his moments of high tension (in the cinema etc). Wahlberg i didn't buy at all. In fact i want my money back for his presence in that role - or general lack of it. And casting Ray Winstone as a non-cockney? You get used to it, but it still doesn't really work. Plenty of the other big and small names blend in fine though.

For all Nicholson's fireworks and blood-pawed eccentricities, i didn't actually feel the claustrophobic threat that peaked in the original at times. I can see why they did some things differently - the hand cast etc - but felt Leo was almost having to carry some of the nerve-jangling through harrowedness alone. The editing even seemed to slip the odd beat, which surprised me, as stalwart Schoonmaker was in the chair again. Just little odd things - like the clumsy-looking cut-via-black bits at the initial funeral - a concertinaed conversation in the cafe (admittedly that might have been my digibox glitching ;)). The triple zoom cut in the alleyway stalking also seemed a bit desperate - and again the scene itself didn't seem to have the tension i remember being in original, altho was fine in its own right.

IF had it's own foibles of course, and there's been talk on other threads of dodgy dialogue etc. Trying to take this flick on its own merits, it's still got lots of stand out points. It just didn't take the leap beyond into being a great film, for me. (I did like some of the apparent additions tho - the city hall aspirations, and to an extent the father-figure stuff, that i don't recall in the original. But as for the CGI rat at the end? Frankly, that stank ;)).

3_5

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/6320/thedepartedprofilelarge.jpg

42ndStreetFreak

10-11-09, 11:51 AM

Couldn't stand "Infernal Affairs", and that's from a HK film fan for many years and someone who has met Chow Yun Fat. I thought it dull, confused and...nothing.

I thought "The Departed" was a vast improvement, far more interesting, exciting and engaging. It's let down only by Nicholson.
It seems even the mighty, mighty Scorsese was laid low by this ego****ingmaniac.
If you look at who Scorsese normally works with...star ego is not normally in the mix. DeNiro has such a zero off set personality he can't really summon up a star ego surely.

His damn rat impressions make the film nosedive. Scorsese should have slapped the old coot down and reminded him whose damn film it was and if he does not cut the crap he'll be replaced...Plenty of top actors (which Nicholson normally is of course) would leap at the chance to work with our Marty.

Other than that though (American twang Winstone aside, as you said), I thought it was a class act and for once left Hong Kong floundering.

Golgot

10-11-09, 12:26 PM

Yeah i need to revisit Infernal to re-gauge it. My first impression was pretty favourable, but felt it was a bit unravelled at times (& occasionally silly at others). I can still see some of the scenes tho, and feel some of the tension, particularly on Leung's side, despite the fogginess of my recall (gotta be a plus point that). Plus it has that advantage of having got the twists in first.

Yeah, the rat impression was daft. Kind of in keeping with the 'Nicholsoness' that was pervading his portrayal, but that in itself was ultimately out of place, and took me out of the film.

I liked all the Oirish additions, definitely made it more accessible to a westerner and that, and i suspect it was presented in a more coherent way overall too.

(PS if you see Yun Fat again, preferably on the set of The Corrupter 2, can you get him to deck Marky Mark for me? ;))

42ndStreetFreak

10-11-09, 01:09 PM

(PS if you see Yun Fat again, preferably on the set of The Corrupter 2, can you get him to deck Marky Mark for me? ;))

Will do! :p
He was great actually.
It was just before his move to Hollywood and he just adored the reception he got from us all during the film festival in London that was honouring him.

Hong Kong audiences, and indeed general Chinese audiences in the UK, are actually very staid and quite frankly just don't show their enthusiasm.
I can say this from sitting in a couple of actual Hong Kong cinemas and in a London Chinatown cinema (showing "A B T") where all was pretty much deathly silence, whereas Western fans really get into the films.

As such he was in heaven when we all cheered him.
He said that Hong Kong fans just don't do this and he literally wanted more and more and called for it!
A really nice guy. Never thought much of his rather sour faced wife though (sorry Chow) and she seems to be a bit of a bulldog manager type.
But Chow was a joy.

You can find footage of the show on the old UK, retail, box set VHS of "A B T" and "The Killer" and on at least one 'Eastern Heroes' DVD.

I know links are not allowed normally...but I hope this is okay...as these are some of the photos I took of the event, and so are not available anywhere else and you may find them interesting. And I ain't downloading them all onto here.
http://www.beardyfreak.com/photoschow.htm

Hope that's okay.

MovieMan8877445

10-11-09, 03:47 PM

The Last Samurai - 4
(Edward Zwick, 2003)

I never really wanted to watch it, but I watched part of it on F/X and then decided to Netflix it. I pretty much loved every second. Even if it was 2 and a half hours long, the entire film just seemed to fly by. I loved the ending so much, because it was so moving. I guess when I get some extra cash me I'll go and pick up the DVD. I wouldn't mind watching it again.

http://web.li.gatech.edu/~rdrury/600/write/f1_06/epic/lastsamurai.jpg

Heat - 4+
(Michael Mann, 1995)

Now this was a damn good film, every second of it. The two heist scenes were done was great. Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer all played their parts so perfectly. The ending between Pacino and DeNiro is what I had been waiting for the entire movie. This really does deserve all the hype that it seems to get from people.

http://matchcuts.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/heat.jpg

The Godfather - 5
(Francis Ford Cappola, 1972)

Finally got a chance to re-watch this, after waiting about a year since I had first seen it. I had always thought that I liked Part II more, but this time, this one seemed to just be better. It went flew by completely, I couldn't believe how fast it went by. I was totally surprised. This probably has the best cast ever, Pacino, Brando, Caan, Duvall, and Keaton.

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/godfather_brando.jpg

The Godfather: Part II - 4.5
(Francis Ford Cappola, 1974)

Surprisingly enough, I didn't like it as much as the first. I still liked the story in this one more, because I loved Vito's backstory, but it seemed a lot slower. Especially those last 30 minutes of the movie or so, it felt so damned long. It's still worth it for those last few minutes of the movie.

http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/godfather3.jpg

Juno - 3
(Jason Reitman, 2007)

I didn't hate this time around, but I still don't think it's all that great. It's a good film definitely, but I don't know, there's still something about it that I just don't like about it all that much. I'm not even completely sure what that thing is. I loved Jason Bateman in it, though.

http://livingincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/juno-001-500.jpg

Trick'r Treat - 4
(Michael Dougherty, 2009)

The best horror film I've seen in years. It's very orginal, and very fast paced. The twist ending totally took me by surprise completely. It's not very long so it's like the perfect length, because it'd start to get boring after awhile. How this didn't get a theatrical release is beyond me. It's defintiely one of the years best.

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/2007_trick_r_treat_005-550x366.jpg

Zombieland - 4
(Ruben Fleischer, 2009)

When I get some more free time on my hand, I may type up a full review for this. For now, this will have to do. This is the most fun I've had at a movie theater this year, probably even longer than that. It's incredibly fun, very gory, and is too fun to express in words. You have to see it before it leaves theaters to experience the full extent of the fun of the movie.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2009/10/5/1254734515851/Jesse-Eisenberg-and-Woody-001.jpg

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 3.5
(Tobe Hooper, 1974)

This has inspiried me to try to spend as much time this month catching up on all those horror films that I haven't seen yet. I think that if I wouldn't have watched it after seeing Zombieland, it wouldn't have seemed so slow. It didn't really scare me at all, but I think that's just because it's like impossible for me to get scared at any movie anymore. There were some truly shocking moments in this, though, no doubt about that. Though the ending seemed kind of lame.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/photos/h/horror_hall_of_fame/texaschainsawmassacre.jpg

The Brothers Solomon - 3+
(Bob Odenkirk, 2007)

Yeah it was very stupid and kind of lame, but Will Arnett was pretty damned funny in it. I want to try and see all of the roles that Will Arnett has been in, after finishing Arrested Development. I mean he was the funniest actor on the show, no doubt. The movie itself is pretty stupid, but there are some pretty funny spots throughout the movie. It's on Netflix instant watch, so if you're in the mood for something stupid but funny, give it a shot.

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/05/23/Brothers-Solomon.jpg

undercoverlover

10-11-09, 07:39 PM

Galaxy Quest

first viewing, loved it. Simple, funny with a great play on sci fi tv shows. Plus, i still have a girl crush on sigourney weaver who definitely needs to get more comedies. Plus, Tim Allen, not the worst lead in a movie

nebbit

10-11-09, 08:43 PM

Galaxy quest is one of my favourites, just watched it again the other day :yup:

meatwadsprite

10-12-09, 01:52 AM

Jack was my favorite in The Departed.

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Zombieland 2009

It's got enough charm and wild video-game flair to hold it's own against others like it , it's in no means epic like Dawn of the Dead or as funny as Shaun of the Dead - but one of the funnest times I've had in the theater for awhile.

"This is so exciting , your about to learn who your gona call"

3.5

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School of Rock 2003

Not nearly as awesome as it could have been , Jack Black plays a slightly more uptight version of his own Jack Black character. I wrote this movie off long ago as run of the mill garbage and it was surprisingly non-cheap.

3

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Southland Tales 2007

After a couple viewings the movie is anything but open ended , I was very underwhelmed on this viewing because the loose parts of the movie that I probably spent time thinking about just what was going on - I neglected , still a lot of great moments and photography , but not the masterpiece I claimed it was years ago - there isn't enough meat on it to be a masterpiece.

3.5

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Adaptation 2002

Speaking of meat , Adaptation has it in bulk. This movie gets better every time I watch it , Kaufman's script does have surreality and complex meta-processes , but the performers take center stage. Cage's chemistry with himself is brilliant. Cooper and Streep are amazing as well , subtle powerful acting , with mounds of great dialogue.

4.5

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:mFvv5bEo8dg2TM:http://morb.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/dawn_of_the_dead_1978.jpg http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:wA25fgutNpFFTM:http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/GamerBait/dwnotd-r2_shot3l.jpg http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:WVM7Lc56a2nGbM:http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/03/romerozomb.jpg

A cinematic celebration of fun and quality film making.

5

Harry Lime

10-12-09, 02:34 AM

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/1theparallaxview.jpg
The Parallax View (1974, Alan J. Pakula) 3
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/2cruelgunstory.jpg
Cruel Gun Story (1964, Takumi Furukawa) 3
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/32or3thingsiknowabouther.jpg
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967, Jean-Luc Godard) 2
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/4thefirewithin.jpg
The Fire Within (1963, Louis Malle) 4
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/5thehit.jpg
The Hit (1984, Stephen Frears) 3
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/6blastofsilence.jpg
Blast of Silence (1961, Allen Baron) 2.5
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/7elmergantry.jpg
Elmer Gantry (1960, Richard Brooks) 3
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/8thechildrenarewatchingus.jpg
The Children Are Watching Us (1944, Vittorio De Sica) 3
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/9runfatboyrun.jpg
Run Fatboy Run (2007, David Schwimmer) 2
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/10sevenbeauties.jpg
Seven Beauties (1975, Lina Wertmuller) 3.5

Golgot

10-12-09, 09:56 AM

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3605/somerstownstill2.jpg

Somers Town

A quietly wonderful tale. An amiable lad, astray in the big city, makes friends with a Polish kid left to dream his days away by his journeyman father. Actions and tone do all the heavy lifting. There's no need for colour-coded signals of intent - the actors all have enough presence to keep the film right on track. Meadows can often just frame the action and let the timing and the silences tell their own tales. Multi-camera shooting allows for plenty of comic and naturalistic interchanges, but occasionally he'll just sit back and allow a scene to play itself out.

The boys find some spice added to their lives by a French waitress in a local cafe. The eponymous region they're in connects London to France via the Eurostar, and it's no surprise that only a few local characters make an appearance. King's Cross is a mixing pot, populated by different trades and nationalities depending on the time of day. It's a perfect setting for this tale, which if it fails at all, is perhaps in that it is so very short and sweet.

4

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9510/somerstownmeadows.jpg

42ndStreetFreak

10-12-09, 11:05 AM

Some top viewing here guys 'n' gals!

MovieMan8877445 -

Spot on views all round there. Though an extra 1 for "TCM" for me. Just as classic as it ever was...which is very, was...er...anyway 4.5 for me.

Nice to see some love for "The Last Samurai", I thought it delivered big time.
Overly romanticised the Samurai (not that nice actually) but otherwise a solid historical actioner, that seems to have fallen into the, now seemingly permanent, trap of 'he's a Scientology whack job so **** his films'. Hell, I thought "MI:3" was by far the best of the bunch.

No interest in "juno", but the other ratings there were spot on. Perhaps .5 more for "Godfather 2" ;) . Groovy thoughts mate.

Harry: "The Hit"?! That's a blast from the past. Tim Roth with bleached hair if memory serves.

MovieMan8877445

10-12-09, 05:42 PM

Some top viewing here guys 'n' gals!

MovieMan8877445 -

Spot on views all round there. Though an extra 1 for "TCM" for me. Just as classic as it ever was...which is very, was...er...anyway 4.5 for me.

I think if I didn't watch it after such a fast paced film like Zombieland, I could've liked it a bit more. It was still pretty shocking, but I felt it took too long to actually get to seeing Leatherface and by that time the movie was practically at the end of the movie.

TheUsualSuspect

10-12-09, 06:00 PM

I'm a big fan of Last Samurai, until the bogus ending came.

mark f

10-12-09, 07:10 PM

My Mother's Castle (Yves Robert, 1990) 3.5

http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200/drt200/t235/t23505p580k.jpg

Beautiful continuation of My Father's Glory where the Pagnol family returns to Provence for the Winter and Spring Breaks and eventually the weekends, this time walking through luxurious estates they are not really allowed to traverse. The key scenes are the continuation of the rustic country vacations, but this time Marcel (Julien Ciamaca) falls for the demanding Isabelle (Julie Timmerman), much to the chagrin of his best friend Lili (Jorias Molinas) and his younger brother Paul (Victorien Delamare). The second thing plotwise which is new in this film are the adventures of the family getting to and from their home away from home. A former student (Philippe Uchan) of the father (Philippe Caubère) works as a canal guard and gives Dad a key to unlock and lock all the gates along a shortcut which will help give all the family, especially frail Mother (Nathalie Roussel), a much quicker walk along the way. Right from the melancholy music playing over the opening credits, you can tell that My Mother's Castle will eventually become much more serious than the romantic innocence of the first film. The ultimate lesson of this film is that life moves quickly and innocence will be lost and pain gained, but there really is no need to tell the children before it's time to learn these unforgiving facts of life.

Effi Briest (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974) 2.5

http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/14019/fontane_effi_briest.png

Fassbinder tries to capture the aloofness he took from this 19th-century classic German novel in two striking manners, both which will go a long way to determine how much the viewer enjoys the film. First, for a film about teenage girl Effi Briest (Hanna Schgulla) leaving her family to marry a successful older nobleman (Wolfgang Schenk), the director shoots in black-and-white and drops the two lead characters into an estate filled with mirrors, curtains, sculptures, see-through doors, etc. Almost all of the scenes involving these two characters are filmed so that they are separated by all these objects surrounding them, and their dialogue often consists of formal exchanges where they either disagree with each other's opinions or are unable to understand them. There is a lot of dialogue in the film too, so if you do not understand German it could cause one to have to either miss the dialogue or the visuals, but as I say, they seem to reflect and counterpoint each other anyway. The other way Fassbinder fills out his story is by having another important character presented in an entirely different manner. Effi's husband is often away on business, so she seeks companionship from a Major (Ulli Lommel) during these times. Most of their activities are filmed outdoors and described by a narrator (Fassbinder) who is basically allowed to illustrate the most-emotional feelings which Effi has. This film fits in well with Fassbinder's evolution of fitting his technique and style specifically to each project, so it would be perfect to study in a film class on Fassbinder. I feel it's somewhat less-successful as a film to try to enjoy, although the cinematography and sets are aesthetically-pleasing. For those who care, this is the actual on-screen title of this movie: Fontane Effi Briest oder viele, die eine Ahnung haben von ihren Möglichkeiten und ihren Bedürfnissen und trotzdem das herrschende System in ihrem Kopf akzeptieren durch ihre Taten und es somit festigen und durchaus bestätigen.

Dark Star (John Carpenter, 1974) 2

http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/cybercinema/images/darkstar-pos.jpg

Carpenter's first feature film, allegedly shot for $60,000, has some laughs and charm in basically making a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but with some twists like having a beach ball with claws play an alien, having one character with an enormous 8-track tape collection, and having another character with almost a surfing fetish get to go out with a bang. The opening scene with the talking head enunciating all his words exactly as a similar character does in 2001 had me going up front, and I liked Pinback (Dan O'Bannon) as my favorite character, but I have to admit that it does really feel stretched out during much of it. Although it's certainly a cult film, I think I would have liked it better in its original conception as a student-made short film. Even so, many of the conversations with the Bomb bordered on priceless and the homemade sets and costumes bring smiles so I guess it's really up to you how much you enjoy the flick. It's probably more fun to watch Dark Star just before you watch Alien to catch the many similarities between the spaceships Dark Star and Nostromo.

Broadway Danny Rose (Woody Allen, 1984) 3.5

http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Broadway_Danny_Rose/broadway_danny_rose_movie_image_woody_allen.jpg

Woody Allen's attempt at making a short-and-sweet, straight-up comedy is mostly successful. Much of the humor comes from the wonderfully offbeat and borderline pathetic "quality" of all the acts which talent agent Danny Rose (Allen) represents. There are also plenty of laughs coming from Rose's putdowns of a few people and his reactions to all the dangerous situations he gets himself into just by representing his underachieving clients. The main client Danny is currently shepherding, during this recollection of him by several comics at a deli, is has-been singer Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte) who's in the middle of a comeback but is in love with mobster's squeeze Tina (Mia Farrow), and Danny gets into big trouble while escorting Tina and trying to keep Lou's wife from finding out about the relationship. Gordon Willis once again paints a loving B&W picture of NYC and environs, and there's a hilarious scene involving the balloon floats of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, but even though the film is fun, it really is almost lighter-than-air because without all the scenes involving the comics talking about Danny Rose and the credits, the flick would be less than 70 minutes long.

Elmer Gantry (Richard Brooks, 1960) 5

http://i36.tinypic.com/166ngc8.jpg

My second favorite film is Elmer Gantry, but when I say "favorite", I can also mean "best" and be totally honest about it. I just watched it again, and I'm really struck by how much writer/director Brooks was able to get into a two-and-one-half-hour movie. The film only covers a small portion of Sinclair Lewis' novel, but it seems to me that about five hours worth of plot and incident is included in the flick which seems to fly by without a boring moment anywhere. It's set in the 1920s Midwest and follows traveling salesman Elmer Gantry (Oscar-winner Burt Lancaster) who is something of a triple threat. He'll attempt to sell anything, especially himself, using booze, sex and religion. At first glance, he seems to be a huckster, and he actually is, but when given the right circumstances, Gantry can be honest and heartfelt about his devotion to God, even considering the question of Hell and Damnation.

http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/20007/elmer_gantry_1960.jpg

After a Christmas Eve of "drunken debauchery" and a near beating on a freight train he hopped, Gantry comes into a small town and proceeds to begin singing a spiritual at a black church. This rousing scene shows how much Gantry loves the "old-time religion", and it isn't long before he becomes fixated on the traveling revival of Sister Sharon Falconer (a wonderful Jean Simmons). It seems clear at the outset that Gantry is more interested in Sharon's body than her soul, but they do develop something along a mutual admiration society, despite trepidation from Sharon's business manager Bill Morgan (Dean Jagger, great as always) who uncovers Gantry's unsavory past at a seminary. Also covering Sister Sharon, Gantry and Morgan are Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter Jim Lefferts (the superb Arthur Kennedy) who is outwardly friendly but somewhat antagonistic towards what he sees as the fleecing of the poor by the revival "industry" and a general disdain for religion.

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As I've mentioned in my Top 100 list, I believe that Elmer Gantry has the most perfect collection of dialogue ever written for a screenplay, and with this ensemble of actors delivering it, it comes across as being spoken by real people who totally understand themselves from moment-to-moment, even if they're forced to evolve over the course of the entire film which only makes their words and actions even more believable to me. Maybe some film watchers believe the dialogue is just too good, too witty or powerful to be all that believable, but I certainly don't come from the school where the best and/or most entertaining films have to be completely true-to-life. After all, I like to watch movies to escape from life, although I love it when life is illuminated by any film, and I don't go out of my way to eliminate certain kinds of films from being those which can help me to bring a deeper understanding about our place in this world. Elmer Gantry makes no apologies about pushing all the key buttons of melodrama, whether it be sex, violence, religion, politics, or what have you, and I certainly feel no need to apologize for the success at which the film presents its story and characters in a fast-paced narrative which touches on some subjects which even today many filmmakers wouldn't have the nerve to approach.

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Let's see here... I still haven't mentioned the big scenes in the Big fictional City of Zenith and the introduction of George F. Babbitt (Edward Andrews), a character so famous that Lewis wrote an entire novel about him. Nor have I brought up Lulu Baines (Shirley Jones, another Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), the young woman whom Gantry "rammed the fear of God into" on Christmas Eve behind the seminary pulpit and who makes an appearance again which will greatly affect Gantry and his "Bible Broad". I also haven't mentioned Patti Page and "What is Love? Love is the Morning and the Evening Star." Then there's the whole thing at the end involving the shooting star and whether Sister Sharon was somehow touched by the Hand of God or turned into a megalomaniac. Quite a few members have watched Elmer Gantry and presented their thoughts on it. Most of them give it a polite, yet unimpressive, rating which sometimes makes me think that I just must be out of touch with reality. But then I think and feel a little harder and take a look at things from the other side; no, I'm not out-of-touch, but I may have stayed in-touch for just too-long now. :cool:

Malky

10-13-09, 12:10 PM

Shadow of The Vampire 3 I reckon I would have given it a higher rating but continual interruptions and chat lowered the impact of Malkovich as the eccentric director and Willem Defoe as Count Orlock.

Rabid 3 I was drunk when I watched this which also lowered its impact

Halloween 2(2009) 3 Actually its not too bad, rather brutal with unsettling sound effects but it is a good slasher movie

Friday 13th (2009)2 I suppose it is okay not a patch on the orginal but it passed the time

42ndStreetFreak

10-13-09, 02:20 PM

Give "Rabid" another go my friend.
Damn good gritty Cronenberg that's worth 10 "Eastern Promises".

Used Future

10-13-09, 03:41 PM

Yup I second giving Rabid a second chance. That flick scared the crap out of me the first time I saw it. I was only fifteen and it was on Moviedrome presented by Alex Cox. I really miss that show; it's one of the reasons I got into cult cinema.

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Golgot

10-13-09, 05:58 PM

Gah, you reminded me to check on how Repo Chick was shaping up. Variety sez...

what you would get if Michael Moore directed an episode of...kiddie series Lazy Town.

That and the green-screen is making me think low-budget Speed Racer. Hope not.

Cox says Universal are rushing out some stashed Jude Law vehicle called Repossession Mambo as a faux sequel to Repo Man off the back of all this. The light at the end of the tunnel ain't no radioactive flying car, it seems :(

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Mrs. Darcy

10-13-09, 10:58 PM

I was home sick today, and up early, so I self-medicated and watched crap movies while drifting in and out of consciousness.

House of Wax - not the cool, Vincent Price version, but the gnarly, please-hurry-up-and-kill-Paris-Hilton version. 2

Driven- does anyone even remember that Stallone did a racing movie? I don't think anyone used an avatar from this during Sly week. Can't say I blame them. Boringly bad acting, cliche dialogue spoken by Burt Reynolds, Stallone, and others. Bleh. Still, I watched it through. 2

WBadger

10-13-09, 11:14 PM

Surrogates, (2009, Mostow)- C+/B-

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Okay, so this was my most anticipated movie for the summer, and it faired alright. I think this movie is getting too harsh of reviews from what I've seen. The whole concept of the movie is excellent, and to wonder about just how far the world will get along technologically. The designs of the surrogates are really great by showing just how beautiful and perfect the new world really is with these advancements. In particular, Bruce Willis' surrogate is really weird to look at, I've watched so many movies with Bruce and this version looks neither young or old but so perfect, I guess. Back to the film itself, the action sequences were nothing too special and maybe even borderline stupid "comic book villain" parts to the film. More character development with Bruce's character would've been even better, as being taken back to he and his wifes roots. So, in summary, this shouldn't be chalked down as an action film but more as a technical psychological take on human society that pretends to be something its not in crucial parts of the film.

Catch Me If You Can, (2002, Spielberg)- A-

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First time viewing here, and it was a really entertaining film that differs from all of the Spielberg films I've seen. I admit, I am a big fan of Steven Spielberg and I might even give his movies more credit then they deserve but his movies are so powerful especially with the genre he mostly attempts. And this is a lighter movie that he attempted and I had to remember while watching this movie that it was Spielberg directing it. Leonardo DiCaprio brings a lot of charm and charisma to his character, which isn't very surprising because of his many great roles. I loved the soundtrack of the running clarinets or oboes going up and down and it created a nice theme and pace to the film. Towards the end I think the plot gets a little jumbled and maybe goes on longer than it should. But, overall, nicely acted, and often comical, Catch Me If You Can remains entertaining and fun for the viewer.

The Shawshank Redemption, (1994, Darabont)- A

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Inspiring movie, with great messages throughout. Morgan Freeman should narrate more movies, it especially worked in this film front the point of view of another prison mate, and his smooth, calm voice added a lot. Looking forward to the re-watch.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, (2007, Gordon)- B/B+

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Fun documentary that takes video games to a new competitive level, I might have a new respect for extreme gamers. Billy Mitchell was hilarious in how arrogant and how dominant he was in video games.

2001: A Space Odyssey, (1968, Kubrick)- ?

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I was taken back by this film based on its uniqueness and power towards the genre of science fiction. At first, I was bored with this movie since most of my movie exposure is to the "modern" era of the 90's and forwards, but then I started getting involved with the film. The small details that Kubrick puts in this movie and the booming soundtrack while watching beautiful sights from outer space. The messages and observations planted throughout the movie about mankind are strong, yet subtle which leaves it to your imagination to predict, guess, and reason with all of the steps taken. I admit that I was confused at times with the monoliths and the crazy last thirty minutes or so. But after reading the plot summaries and getting a better understanding of the film, it all starts to come together. This film needs to be acknowldged for how beautiful it is, especially the Stragate sequence which is an incredible visual and transformation. I can’t possibly give this film a fair grade right now, since I was trying to figure everything out while having the ultimate combination of confusement and awe.

V for Vendetta, (2005, McTeigue)- C-

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This wasn't very good from the beginning, with a character that wasn't interesting in the slightest bit. I'm taking about the main dude, V, who wears the mask. Was he supposed to be cool and/or have any likability factor to him? The dialogue was cheesy, the action was weak, so not impressed with this film.

Sedai

10-14-09, 10:05 AM

Gran Torino (Eastwood, 2008) 4_5

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I can't say enough about this flick. Subtle yet engaging, an honest look at a dying American breed. The symbolism in the film is straight-forward but elegant, and it never drops an anvil on your head. Good old fashioned story telling.

undercoverlover

10-14-09, 10:45 AM

Nightmare Before Christmas

42ndStreetFreak

10-14-09, 08:37 PM

"Broken Oath" 3.5

The glorious Angela Mao blazes a trail of vengeance against the men that killed her parents.

Perhaps the ultimate Angela Mao movie, this is packed with wonderful old school fights as Angela (the 2nd best thing in "Enter the Dragon" damn it) expertly uses her fists, feet, poles, swords and handy scorpion filled lace scarf (!) on anyone in her way. To dazzling effect.

The odd acrobatic doubling aside the fighting is all the work of Mao as well whose blistering spin kicks are a sight to behold.
We have a slight bit of under-cranking to speed things up occasionally (though only one bad moment, during the finale swordfight, that seems out of place) but basically this is majestic martial arts skill at its old school best.
We also have a bit of 'Fire Breathing Fu', which is a total riot, and wacky Chinese healing tricks that are totally la la land but fun.

But there is more!
Not only is Mao herself in top flight fight form but she is joined by a wealth of martial arts film greats, all working under the action choreography guidance of the legendary Juen Woo-ping.

The Demi-God that is Sammo Hung makes an appearance, sporting funny big black beard and wielding a great 'double fan of knives on a chain' weapon.
The much missed Lam Ching-ying ("Magic Cop", "Mr Vampire") has great fun as nasty Kung-Fu assassin who looks like Rob Zombie's lost Chinese uncle.
'Bruce' Leung ("Kung Fu Hustle", "The Dragon Lives Again") has a reunion with Sammo and Angela following their stunning "Hapkido", and has a great one-on one battle with Lam Ching-ying.
Billy Chan (Award winning action choreographer on Sammo's classic "The Prodical Son") pops up.
And both Corey Yuen (future director of "Ninja in a Dragon's Den" and "The Transporter") and the superb Yuen Biao ("Prodical Son", "Project A", "Above the Law") make early appearances...Biao more than likely doing much of the stunt and acrobatics work.
Even Dean Shek (who almost ruined "A Better Tomorrow 2" with his overacting, but does better here) pops up as a brothel janitor.

Some overly complicated plot twists (most definitely not helped by some badly translated English subtitles) and a couple of pointless comedy scenes early on are the only bad things here, as Mao cuts a gorgeously ruthless swathe though this classic bit of Old School 70's mayhem from 'Golden Harvest'.

TheGirlWhoHadAllTheLuck_

10-15-09, 02:39 PM

American Beauty 4
Currently being into American films/theatre, I thought I should give this a go. The comic parts were a mixture of sardonic bitchy humour and cringiness but the dramatic parts were very well done- nicely lit and good direction. The film's denouement was very good- hold on until the end because there are some interesting character twists that make unlikeable characters sympathetic- and although the final monologue was too long and a bit cringy, there was some wonderful bits that warrent 4 stars (and some great acting from Kevin Spacey)

Lost in Translation 3_5
This is one of the slowest paced films ever, even slower than Girl With A Pearl Earring. I like subtlety but not so subtle that there's no conflict. Because it was so understated, it wasn't overly funny.
There were some beautifully subtle bits but there should have been less musing. Perhaps it might be one you need to watch again.

Casablanca 3_5
It's a film classic- you gotta watch it. The lines are funny and memorable- you can pratically say the words along with the film on your first viewing. However it gets 3 and a half for the unfortunately cheesy lines Bergman has to say and because it doesn't flow together as a film. It's really a film you watch for 'moments'.

Loner

10-15-09, 02:45 PM

Chelovek No. 217 (Mikhail Romm)

Russian with no subtitles

1944, a parade of German prisoners is being escorted out of town. In the crowd of onlookers is Tanya, a pretty Russian woman, but aged by mistreatment.

1942, after being captured, we see her at a railroad station. German soldiers are assigning numbers to the prisoners, she draws 217. A wealthy couple picks her to be their household slave.

Tanya is strong, proud and endures her brutal treatment. Biding time for her revenge.

Now, onto problems I had with the movie. First, I can't speak Russian, but at least there was nothing to lose in translation. Second, a subplot involves one of her co-captures who is a scientist. After being questioned by German civilians and refusing cooperation, did he think he would get think he would get better treatment from Nazi soldiers? If you had relevant information, wouldn't you attempt to flee? Commit suicide?

Strong performance by Yelena Kuzmina as Tanya in this bleak film.

3.5

I would like to thank The University of Washington for allowing me to view this film.

TheUsualSuspect

10-15-09, 11:01 PM

Malky

10-16-09, 04:58 AM

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

One of my all time favourite movies, beautifully directed and masterfully written. Everything clicks and the two leads are lovable. The truth and sadness of any relationship can relate.

5

I'm alone I know but I hate that film with a passion. I like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as actors but I despised their characters in that film, to me the had very few redeeming characterisitcs
the Invention of Lying-1.5 Dull boring and not that funny. I mean I chuckled a few times but it was hardly worth my time. The rest of the audience did not laugh much either. It has some horrific product placement and pretty shocking continuity which generally does not bother me, but in some scenes Gervais is about 6 inches taller than Garner but in others she is 6 inches taller.

undercoverlover

10-16-09, 08:54 AM

Dead Man Running Danny Dyer and Tamer Hassan's new brit gangster flick, not bad

42ndStreetFreak

10-16-09, 10:01 AM

Dead Man Running Danny Dyer and Tamer Hassan's new brit gangster flick, not bad

Where did you see this. IMDB has no ratings, comments, or external reviews for it yet.

undercoverlover

10-16-09, 10:05 AM

i went to a press screening

42ndStreetFreak

10-16-09, 10:47 AM

i went to a press screening

Ahh...right.
Nice one. :cool:

undercoverlover

10-16-09, 10:57 AM

yeah i can't really review it here until ive reviewed it for the place i work for
Onthebox.com folks, check it out

42ndStreetFreak

10-16-09, 01:52 PM

Righto. Nice gig as well, congrats.

"Doghouse" 3.5

Vince (Stephen Graham) is going through a nasty divorce and needs some good old brotherly love from his mates.
So his best friends Neil (Danny Dyer) and Mikey (Noel Clarke) arranges for Vince and four other friends to take a boozy lads holiday to an isolated village called ‘Woodley’ where the women outnumber the men 4 to 1 and where they can stay at the house of Mikey’s Nan.

But when they arrive at the forest-ringed village they find the 4 to 1 ratio of women to men has grown a bit wider as it seems the only people alive in ‘Moodley’ now are the women…mutated, psychotic, man-hating, cannibal women. And they're very hungry….

Hold the phone! Stop the presses!
Jake West has not only made a good film at last…he’s made a very good film!
After the tragic, embarrassing, Goth guff of “Razor Blade Smile”, the inane, swamped by crap acting, boredom of “Evil Aliens”, the admittedly hard grafting Mr West has finally directed a film that’s actually worth all the hard work he obviously puts into his projects.
I’ve always been hard on Jake West as his films always came off as the worst example of what low budget British horror movies can be like.
All seemed lost.

But now, because Jake has finally got some good writers and actors to create his genuinely interesting visions with, he has delivered a great horror-comedy romp that can stand proudly next to many other recent British horror successes.

With his biggest budget yet and solid actors to deliver some choice dialogue West gives us a fast-moving, astute, wonderfully politically incorrect splatter comedy that offers great no nonsense entertainment.
And away from the fun, gory, action it is the acting that makes the film so watchable.

Professional cockney wide boy Danny Dyer is in top form as the blatantly misogynistic Neil and although Dyer at first seems to be playing up to his mostly off-set (he actually very rarely plays such arrogant roles in his films) laddish oath persona, the screenplay (by comic book writer Dan Schaffer) gives him some great chances to break down this persona and Dyer astutely handles his character’s shifting perspectives.
Perspectives that deliver one of the best lines in the film (in a film full of great lines) when the new caring Neil is criticised by his friends, “This is not the time to stop objectifying women”!

The ever welcome Stephen Graham makes Vince extremely likeable and Graham brings his customary drive and energy to the role mixing humour and small moments of drama perfectly.

Of the rest of the cast Lee Ingleby is given the choicest role as the comic/film memorabilia shop owner Matt and does a great job. He also delivers a lovely signposted nod to the ‘are they zombies’ arguments, that films such as “Doghouse” still bring up between fans, when discussing an “Evil Dead” comic with a disrespecting school boy. As just as they were really possessed people in “The Evil Dead” not zombies, the cannibal women in “Doghouse” are infected by a virus and not actually zombies.
Let a “28 Days Later” battle commence!

Everyone else does a grand job and there is a nice support role for movie hard man Terry Stone, as a mysterious soldier, who has certainly improved since his work in “Rollin' with the Nines” and handles some top comedy scenes perfectly. He also gets to have a fun (if gory) reunion with his “Rise of the Footsoldier" co-star Billy Murray, who has a fun cameo.

The film looks good and professional too. Again a big jump from the amateur school play horrors of “Razor Blade Smile”. Some nice use of music, effective cinematography and well staged action ensure we have little from a technical viewpoint to take us out of the movie.
The only real negative points are some very false looking rooftop/house sets used for some sequences.

The ‘Zombirds’ are fun and varied and are essentially played as a genuine threat despite the black comic aspect of many of them as far as appearance goes.
The film has lots of fun playing with genre conventions while adding slapstick silliness, genuine excitement and crude laughs to the plentiful blood and gore on display.
Said gore may not be constant and never reaches crazy levels, but all the FX are well crafted, nicely messy, highly effective and perfectly edited (by West) into the action at just the right time, to boost the film when needed.

The screenplay may not be original and we have to face it that “Doghouse” owes a debt to “Shaun of the Dead”. But thankfully West and Schaffer play out many of these similarities with “Shaun” rather differently and even their own ‘let’s pretend we’re zombies’ sequence manages to become its own beast and delivers some good laughs, for longer than the similar scene from “Shaun” did, even if the basic concept is much broader in its humour.

Where the film really becomes its own film is the delightfully rare and un-pc way it mixes the ‘zombie’ action into the basic idea of 21st century men being emasculated, trained and played by many of the women in their life and more explicitly the way they are made to behave and think in today’s metro sexual environment.
Much of the dialogue from Neil (even if some occasionally crosses the line into ignorant insults) amusingly picks out the trouble men have at trying be good old fashioned fun loving blokes whilst all the time being told they have to be responsible and mature and it's a problem right at the heart of the plot’s basic set-up.
But it’s all done in a fun way, and while women in the film come off pretty bad (the women in the guy’s lives are shown to be just as screamingly driven and scary as their later ‘zombie’ counterparts) the film also takes a few swipes (via Dyer’s Neil and his various ‘zombie’ encounters) at frustrated men going too far and turning into disrespectful idiots.

But at its heart this is an explicitly male dominated film, mainly aimed at a male audience and full of ‘reclaiming your balls’ posturing and speech making.
All of which not only works as far as entertainment goes but is wonderfully rare and welcome.
Hell, an example of this is that the screenplay has West’s aforementioned lead actress Emily Booth (despite her pretty prominent billing) only appear as an unrecognisable ‘Zombird’ and is given no dialogue at all.
Instead she simply snarls and waves some lethal looking scissors around. But this could be her best performance ever, so everyone’s a winner.

A few plot mechanics are laboured (what little isolated English village has a Goth/Alternative shop, a large toy store and its own dental practice and mortuary?) and the ‘virus’ plan is never fully covered which makes for a few head scratching plot moments.
Plus the ending suffers from a foolish slow down of pace as it plays out a rather silly scene involving Dyer and a button and the finale seems very rushed and gives us a rather abrupt ending. Seems they ran out of film or something, as some kind of epilogue would have finished things off perfectly.

These small problems aside though, “Doghouse” is a straightforward, well acted, good time, horror-comedy blast delivered with a professional sheen but still with a rough ‘n’ tumble exuberance that keeps the energy flowing and the fun coming.

Definitely check this out. And if Jake West can deliver a couple more films like this…All is forgiven.

TheUsualSuspect

10-17-09, 01:45 AM

Where The Wild Things Are

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After getting into an argument with his mother, young Max runs away from home. He runs into a nearby wooded area, that leads us into his wild imagination. He, dressed up in a wolf costume, sets sail to an island that is inhabited by these giant talking creatures, who then take Max as their king.

The Shawshank Redemption and 2001: A Space Odyssey are both successful films that are based on short stories. Where The Wild Things Are is a new film from Spike Jonze based on a child's book that is extremely short. So short that one would think how on earth could it ever be turned into a film? One would have to go beyond the written and illustrated pages to make something like this work. It seems films based on stories and books that are relatively short succeed more than films based on books that are longer. There is more room for them to move around with.

Jonze, who started off in commercials and has since had a very successful working relationship with Charlie Kauffman, is behind the camera for this adaptation. Along with Dave Eggers, they add much more depth and emotion to the story. I knew going in that the film would have next to no plot, and that's pretty much the case, but that's not what this film needs. In other words, much like 2001: A Space Odyssey again, this is more of an experience, than a film. An experience that is not all fun and laughter.

Where The Wild Things Are is funny and heartfelt, yet also depressing and lonely. The advertisements make the film seems like a wonderful kids adventure. While the film does have bits of adventure in it, it is much darker and a bit more adult. The film explores relationships, loneliness, sadness, trust, love, etc. More than one might expect from a film based on a book that has very few words in it.

Max runs away from home after his mother doesn't give him the attention he wants. Who can blame her, she is a single mother, working hard and trying to have a relationship. He finds comfort and acceptance in this world he creates with these creatures that at first seem intimidating, but once you get up close to them are harmless. Each one has their own distinct voice and look. The voice actors all do a great job bringing just the right amount of emotion to each one. Gandolfini voices Carol, Max's counterpart in the film. They have an instant connection. Both characters have to go through their own complex obstacles and learn from each other. Chris Cooper and Paul Dano supply voices for more Wild Things, each add their own little flair to their characters and it's Dano as the Ram, who gets the most laughs.

In order for this film to work, you need to connect to these beasts. I did, and the film worked for me. I was having fun when they were and sad when they were crying. Max Records, the young boy, has to carry this film, being the only human on screen for 80% of the film. He brings that sense of innocence to the role, seeing his mistakes and growing up to try to make them right. The creatures are wonderful. I'm glad they didn't use CGI for the entire characters. The use of people in costumes, mixed with animatronics and CGI work beautifully and feel more real than anything Michael Bay can conjure up.

The soundtrack is wonderful and the film has that emotional punch that will grab you. It might drag in places, but the overall experience is a good one. Be careful if you brings your kid though, I'm not sure if the content will be too much for them. There are some frightening scenes, and one in which a limb falls off. It may also be just too weird for some kids. Max literally hides inside one of these creatures. Where The Wild Things Are is a wild, weird fantasy that I look forward to see again.

4

TheUsualSuspect

10-17-09, 02:26 AM

I'm alone I know but I hate that film with a passion. I like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as actors but I despised their characters in that film, to me the had very few redeeming characterisitcs
the Invention of Lying-1.5 Dull boring and not that funny. I mean I chuckled a few times but it was hardly worth my time. The rest of the audience did not laugh much either. It has some horrific product placement and pretty shocking continuity which generally does not bother me, but in some scenes Gervais is about 6 inches taller than Garner but in others she is 6 inches taller.

I agree with you on Invention of Lying, not many people found it funny. I wasn't as harsh though, I gave it a generous 3

As for Spotless Mind, why do you hate it with a passion, those are some strong words.

To me, their relationship is real. They have real fights, real emotions and when they went through hardships, they went to have the other one erased. Loving someone so much it hurt too much to think about them. Wanting to live a life without that pain, but once they got to the memories they want to keep, they fight like hell to keep them.

I know I've done stupid things in fits of rage, only later to regret it. Thrown away things, that now I wish I had kept. All to do with relationships too.

Through all the hardships, they still find each other. The question that's left is, do they see it all through. To me, that's true to life and love.

Now you gave Halloween II (2009) a 3

There's a film I hate with a passion. Yuck, 1.5

Malky

10-17-09, 04:07 AM

I agree with you on Invention of Lying, not many people found it funny. I wasn't as harsh though, I gave it a generous 3

As for Spotless Mind, why do you hate it with a passion, those are some strong words.

To me, their relationship is real. They have real fights, real emotions and when they went through hardships, they went to have the other one erased. Loving someone so much it hurt too much to think about them. Wanting to live a life without that pain, but once they got to the memories they want to keep, they fight like hell to keep them.

I know I've done stupid things in fits of rage, only later to regret it. Thrown away things, that now I wish I had kept. All to do with relationships too.

Through all the hardships, they still find each other. The question that's left is, do they see it all through. To me, that's true to life and love.

Now you gave Halloween II (2009) a 3

There's a film I hate with a passion. Yuck, 1.5

Yes it was real but I could not empathise with the characters at all, right of the bat they annoyed me. So basically for me it was 90-120 of watching people I don't like. their journey was interesting but as I hated the characters I did not care about the end result. I liked and felt for Kirsten Dunst's (was it her?) character and the film threw up some intersting questions but in the end i had no emotional investment in the outcome.

Perhaps I should have made clear the Halloween 2, 3 star rating, was slasher film 3 star rating or a 3 chainsaws rating, if you will. It was not a 2 normal film 3 star rating.

Underworld 31 Pure pants and such a waste of Martin Sheen.

Super High Me2.5Kinda funny but really did not prove anything anyone did not already know.

zedlen

10-17-09, 04:46 AM

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Drag Me to Hell
Sam Rami 2009

I had heard or read that his latest film was boring and after Rami dabbling with the more popular Spider Man films. Maybe he's lost his knack for horror, and I think he has. Sure there are a few laughs (when she fights the old woman and her teeth fall out) and some cool scenes (when she digs up the old woman's grave and it fills with mud) but not enough to get me happily through the the hour and half. The ending is also predictable.

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Classicqueen13

10-17-09, 10:39 AM

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Since I enjoyed Spy Hard, I thought I'd really enjoy a spoof of The Fugitive. There's plenty that could be spoofed there despite it's a great film. While Spy Hard and most of these flick are pretty low-brow humor, this was just more weird and gross gags it seemed. The family wasn't laughing much so we didn't get too far before agreeing to turn it off and get to other plans.

2

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Not my pick for the evening, but I had to give it a try. The acting wasn't bad, and the script had a couple good lines. Teens who enjoy teen movies might enjoy it, but otherwise I'd stay away. My low expectations were pretty much met dead on. Just about everything lacks originality.

2.5

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Early Bruce Willis movie that is at least entertaining. Not exactly non-stop laughs but plenty of gags and a few LOL moments. He's a good match for the role and the rest of the cast is fair at least. The script is no prize and neither is the storyline but not a bad way to kill an hour and a half. I would've expected more from a Blake Edwards/Bruce Willis pairing though.

3

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I consider this to be Selleck's best I've seen so far. He plays a terrific character leading a cast of fun ones and good actors. While most people will find most of the events totally unrealistic, I didn't think it took away from the film. Plenty of wit thrown in with a decently original plot for a western.

4

Iroquois

10-17-09, 10:56 AM

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Batman Returns (Tim Burton, 1992) - 2.5

After watching this, I tried to consider where I'd rank it in comparison with the other Batman films and realised that I didn't really care enough to form anything approaching a solid opinion on the matter. This particular instalment was alright on a technical scale, although I didn't find myself getting particularly engaged with what was going on (especially the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle).

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eXistenZ (David Cronenberg, 1999) - 3.5

Insofar as Cronenberg's films go, I think this one actually succeeds at maintaining the same disconcerting feelings of weirdness as most of his films while also managing to be quite entertaining. Even though it manages to "achieve" one hell of a feat and become so unpredictable it actually becomes predictable towards the end, it's still a good film, both as a captivating thriller and a solid meditation on Cronenberg's favourite themes.

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Shaft (Gordon Parks, 1971) - 1.5

I don't know what the general opinion regarding Shaft is around here, but given the fact that it's been considered a popular and influential film for nearly forty years, I would assume it's a favourable opinion. However, I just didn't like it (and I don't give out ratings below 2.5 lightly). I've got my reasons, of course - mediocre plot, long stretches of the film where nothing of interest happened (with only a handful of good scenes spread way too thinly across the film's running time) and the acting was nothing special. It just failed to be a wholly entertaining film.

42ndStreetFreak

10-17-09, 11:25 AM

Yeah "Shaft" never did much for me.
Give me "Truck Turner" ANY Mutha****in' day!

Golgot

10-17-09, 01:34 PM

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Memento

Yep, worth the hype overall. Liked the varied forms of memory involved, and the structure that gives you an eerie itch of empathy with his condition at points (the past is 'present' [about to arrive] but you don't know what it is). I guess it's a little bit muddled in terms of what it says about inherent personality, but the themes of what you might be/become if you couldn't 'update' yourself with reference to the world are all cool. The repetitions involved took the edge of the 'detective rush to truth' at points, but still an involving watch :)

I'm nitpicking because it's such a lauded flick, but thought a couple of things didn't quite make sense. Given that he had a freshly bruised knuckle you'd think he'd be able to tie that in with Moss's freshly bruised face. And how is he able to remember that big wad of files so adeptly at times?

I'm cool with the suggestions that he's got more latent ('unconscious') memory than he's aware of, and that he's (wilfully) misremembered the past etc. Something about the final turn of events felt like it worked more to tie up the loop of the movie than 'complete' the character for us though. Can't quite put my finger on why.

4

42ndStreetFreak

10-17-09, 06:08 PM

"Them" 3.5

The best of the 50's 'Atomic Terror' flicks and one that still works today.
Some wonderfully creepy early scenes (with that great 'ant noise' providing some really unnerving moments) nice performances, great finale and really effective FX work that manages to pack a punch (even though the huge ant models don't look very real) because these are real solid creatures being really attacked by real people using real flamethrowers.
As such the action scenes, even 55 years later, are vastly more satisfying than any CGI fart fest made now.

Love the fact the stunning DVD transfers have the original full colour title card as well, unseen since cinema screenings as far as I know.

"Kibakichi" 3

Jolly enjoyable Japanese japes in the form of a werewolf Samurai who befriends a village of mystical Japanese creatures (from Turtle monsters to Spider Geishas) under threat from beastly humans in fetish gear with a gatling gun!
Madness!
Barmy as only the Japanese can be, this is full of crazy sights and packs bundles of fun into he full on finale.
Early spurting comic strip bloodshed ala "Baby Cart" sadly vanishes until the end (with the other fights being strangely bloodless) but then the gore comes back with a vengeance as Kibakichi leaps around slashing off limbs.

Wacky creatures, Samurai coolness, solid action, very nice soundtrack and Spaghetti Western styling mixed with Japanese mythos all makes for a very enjoyable watch.
Needs a much better DVD transfer though!!

TheUsualSuspect

10-17-09, 06:59 PM

Yes it was real but I could not empathise with the characters at all, right of the bat they annoyed me. So basically for me it was 90-120 of watching people I don't like. their journey was interesting but as I hated the characters I did not care about the end result. I liked and felt for Kirsten Dunst's (was it her?) character and the film threw up some intersting questions but in the end i had no emotional investment in the outcome.

Perhaps I should have made clear the Halloween 2, 3 star rating, was slasher film 3 star rating or a 3 chainsaws rating, if you will. It was not a 2 normal film 3 star rating.

I'm sorry you didn't like it. To me the film had you starting out not liking them, because they are loners/weirdos and you see the relationship at it's end/worst. Then as the film progresses, it pulls you into their lives/relationships and, for me anyway, make you care about them.

RE: Halloween - I still think that's too high. Even for a 'slasher film' rating.

Used Future

10-18-09, 04:09 PM

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Combat Shock (Buddy Giovinazzo, 1986) 1.5
Poverty row Taxi Driver variant about Frankie; a disturbed Vietnam veteran on skid row struggling to provide for his nagging wife and mutant baby. Grim and depressing in every way imaginable this well intentioned, ambitious cheapie is sadly undone by it's budgetary short comings. Whist Combat Shock is reasonably well written and photographed; the acting (particularly from a gang of drug dealers) leaves a lot to be desired, and ultimately undermines the material. Giovinazzo was clearly going for that gritty urban documentary feel that worked so well in films like Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, but never achieves the same level of authenticity. Plus Frankie's Vietnam flashbacks in which we see real footage interspersed with laughably staged battles, are amateurish at best. Add to that shots of his deformed baby who looks more like something from The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, and you're left with a tonally uneven mess that's a real chore to sit through. Shame.

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Prey (Norman J. Warren, 1978) 3.5
A murderous (carnivorous) alien on a scouting mission to earth (Barry Stokes) ends up the guest of a quarreling (vegetarian) lesbian couple in their secluded country retreat; the possessive man-hating Josephine (Sally Faulkner) and suggestible submissive Jessica (Glory Annen). Whilst his odd behavior and food intolerances are initially passed off as male eccentricities, it gradually dawns on Josephine that he's most likely mad, and a rival for Jessica's affections. Offbeat, original take on the familiar alien invasion genre is largely successful thanks to believable well written characters, and three strong performances. Warren makes the most of what must have been a shoestring budget with effective minimal alien makeup, clever choice of location, and bizarre touches like the couple dressing Stokes up in drag for a celebratory dinner. Undeniably exploitative, with the obligatory lesbian sex scene, but arty and intelligent, with a delightful dreamy atmosphere, and some satisfying scare scenes. Having been partly raised by a lesbian couple, I had personal motives for wanting to see this film when I read the plot synopsis, and it didn't disappoint. Two thumbs up.

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The Manitou (William Girdler, 1978) 2.5
Hilarious nonsense adapted from Graham Masterton's novel about woman who develops a growth on her back which turns out to be the reincarnation of an ancient Indian medicine man. Saving the day is Tony Curtis (clearly having a ball) as a tarot reading charlatan who resorts to calling in real Indian mystic John Singing Rock (Michael Ansara) for help. Clearly third rate hokum, but with a lively sense of humour from a spirited cast who make what should be bottom of the barrel garbage very watchable indeed. Throw into the mix some surprisingly decent special effects, and a wham bam ending involving Curtis calling on the spirits of the hospital computers for help, and you have a fun little time filler on your hands.

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Season of the Witch aka Hungry Wives (George A. Romero, 1972) 3.5+
Not to be confused with the crappy Halloween sequel, this largely unseen early effort from Romero fell victim to bad promotion from distributors who refused to put his name (which was hot on the back of Night of the Living Dead) above the title, and insisted on calling it Hungry Wives. As a result many people assumed it was a porn film, and those who did see it were left sorely disappointed by the lack of exploitative content on offer.

Season of the Witch isn't porn or a horror film, but a feminist drama given Romero's own unique stamp. Jan White plays Joan Mitchell; a sexually repressed housewife with an abusive controlling husband who regularly goes out of town, and a hormonal teenage daughter who gets more sex than her. Her best friend Shirley (Ann Muffly) is menopausal, and feels life has passed her by, whilst the rest of her friends seem content to play bridge and gossip. Craving empowerment and excitement Joan begins practicing witchcraft after a visit to a local tarot reader who inspires her. Believing herself to have new found magical powers she casts a spell to lure the local womanising school teacher Gregg (Raymond Laine), round to her house and begins an affair with him. Gradually her obsession with witchcraft takes over as the lines between reality and fantasy blur eventually leading to murder...

Essentially a character study and social commentary on gender roles, female empowerment, sexual frustration, and aging; Romero gives this low budget outing a very personal (if somewhat claustrophobic) feel with lots of close quarters photography, hints at occult symbolism, and some excellent honest dialogue. Particularly brilliant is the scene in which Gregg (much to the disgust of Joan) fools Shirley into believing she's smoking a joint, just to put some excitement and rebellion back into into her jaded life. To me that scene served as a metaphor for the whole film, as Shirley's feeling of empowerment was based on the magic of deception, much like Joan's. It's also brilliantly acted, not only by Jan White who Romero felt was tailor made for the role, but by Laine as the cocksure lothario, and particularly Mufflly as Joan's middle aged friend. To sum up, this isn't going to appeal to everyone, certainly not strict horror and sexploitation fans looking for blood boobs and beast. But as I was expecting neither, the substance, fine performances, and gritty low budget film making on offer here proved hugely satisfying.

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Vigilante (William Lustig, 1983) 2.5
Mild mannered factory worker Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) goes all Charlie Bronson after his son is killed (shotgunned in the bathroom) and wife stabbed by yet another vicious street gang. The gang leader is identified and caught, but given a suspended sentence by a lenient judge after plea bargaining. Naturally Eddie loses it and tries to throttle the judge getting thirty days in the slammer for his trouble. On his release he's left with no option but to seek help from Fred Williamson (I mean who wouldn't want The Hammer on their side) and his gang of vigilantes. Bloody retribution follows, involving one scene in which a couple of cops are brutally machine gunned in their car Reservoir Dogs style. Gritty, nasty stuff with plenty of violence, a good cast (which includes Woody Strode as Eddie's aging prison mentor), and macho posturing from Williamson. Sadly it's also incredibly dumb, with one dimensional characters, and a generic, predictable plot. Rolling Thunder it ain't, but as a mindless action film you could do a lot worse, especially if you like the genre. Which leads me onto this turkey...

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Exterminator 2 (Mark Buntzman, 1984) 1
Exterminator star Robert Ginty sadly passed away on the 21st of September this year, and I thought it only right to re-watch the two films he's best known for. I haven't tabbed The Exterminator because, it's been covered recently, but I am a fan of that movie despite the poor editing, and derivative script; in short it's brutal, and kicks ass. I give it a 3-.

Exterminator 2 on the other hand is one of the worst sequels I've ever seen. Once again there's a vicious gang of street punks on the loose (are there any other kind?), this time led by X, played by Mario Van Peebles who looks like he's auditioning for a Kid n' Play video. Ginty who's swapped his blow torch for a flame thrower this time round, has a girlfriend in the form of sexy dancer Caroline (Deborah Geffner), but not for long. Naturally she gets crippled, then murdered by Peebles and co, forcing our welding masked hero back into action to make human barbecue out of them. By the numbers isn't the word for this grade Z dreck. Ginty (who's started combing his hair back eighties style) phones it in, and that's only when he's on screen. All the scenes with him hidden behind the welding mask are clearly performed by a stunt double; what a con. Add to that the most inappropriately annoying 80's filler music in every scene, and lunkheaded dialogue from X such as 'where's my dugs', and don't even get me started on the scene in which Ginty goes all A Team on us and turns a garbage truck into a heavily armoured snow plow.

Anyway R.I.P. Robert Ginty, thanks for being so cool in The Exterminator, and I'm only sorry you had to suffer the indignity that is Exterminator 2.

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Alice, Sweet Alice aka Communion (Alfred Sole, 1976) 4
Is this the most bonafide link between the 70's Italian giallo, and 80's American slasher? Of the films I've seen it would certainly appear so. It's also one of the best gialli/mystery thrillers/slashers (take your pick) I've seen. Set in a 1960's New Jersey catholic community, suspicion falls on the mentally disturbed Alice after her younger sister is strangled and immolated at her first Holy Communion. A further murder, and vicious knife attack take place in her apartment block by a figure wearing the same yellow rain slicker and doll mask she likes to play in. The evidence is overwhelming, and Alice is sectioned, but is she really the killer?

Sole (who's oddly done nothing noteworthy since) crafts a labyrinthine psycholigical mystery masterclass that keeps you guessing right up to the final chilling frame. It's wonderfully photographed, with stylistic nods to Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now (the rain coat), and murder set pieces that recall early Dario Argento. Paula Sheppard is incredibly convincing as the clearly insane, and very creepy Alice, and the film serves as a damning comment on the closed, superstitious nature of deeply religious communities. The doll mask worn by the killer would signal a trend in the slasher boom that would follow, as this film ranks up there with Bob Clark's earlier Black Christmas, and Dario Argento's Deep Red, as the seminal 70's slashers. It's also much better than what was to follow in my opinion. I'd also like to thank Honeykid for recommending this one. Thanks HK.

Other stuff I watched...

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The Dark (John 'Bud' Cardos, 1979) 2-
Not even William 'Rolling Thunder' Devane can save this clunker about an alien that fires lasers from it's eyes terrorizing L.A. Originally conceived as a zombie movie, this was radically re-edited and effects spliced in after the success of Alien. What can I say, it shows...badly. The rarely seen closeup alien effects look rather good, but most of the time the monster shambles around in zombie like fashion as does the boring overlong script. There is a cool final showdown in which a group of police get 'lasered', but I was really struggling to stay awake. Good cast though.

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Bad Moon (Eric Red, 1996) 2
Michael Pare goes to visit his sister (Mariel Hemingway) and nephew after being bitten by a werewolf and murdering some people in the woods. His reasoning? Maybe family love can cure the curse, duh. Dumb, by the numbers werewolf flick, hampered by Pare's wooden performance, and some truly awful CGI transformation sequences. Partially redeems itself with an exciting showdown sequence involving the family dog Thor (the biggest star of the movie) fighting the monster, but most likely forgettable unless you saw it as a kid.

TheUsualSuspect

10-18-09, 09:19 PM

Drag Me To Hell

Had such a fun time watching this movie and am currently kicking myself for not going to see it in the theatres. It was great.

42ndStreetFreak

10-18-09, 09:34 PM

Nice work 'Used'.

On the ones I have seen, i pretty much agree with you.
"Season of the Witch" is not as bad as its rep would make people believe. Nice use of the song as well.

Naughty naughty though for saying nasty things about the top notch "Halloween 3".

"Vigilante" has such a superb opening (GREAT speech by a totally on form Williamson, leads into that wonderful score for the titles) that all else pretty much pales.
Has some choice moments though, and for hard ass vigilante approving fans like myself the fact there is no liberal moralising and weak-willed pulling back from the revenge is welcome (unlike the wooly liberal, unpunished criminals have rights too but punish the naughty vigilante masturbatory joy of "Death Sentence") and if some of the actual bad guys get off (or should I say 'offed') a bit too lightly...the very end of the film makes up for it. I love that Lustig went THAT FAR with the revenge.

"Alice Sweet Alice" is a nice slow burner, with a rather unique style and feel. The 'bashing upon the head' death scene is a brutal highlight too.
And what the hell can you say about the unforgettable Alphonso DeNoble!!??

Glad you liked "Prey" . Not a big fan of Norman J Warren, but i think this is his most interesting film. Despite not much really happening it has a weird fascination.
What the hell he was thinking during the 5 hour long 'splashing in a muddy puddle' sequence though is anyone's guess!
Sally Faulkner (who had a similar weirdly haunting encounter with nastiness in "Vampyres") is always watchable as well.

Great work 'Used'.:yup:

Used Future

10-18-09, 10:31 PM

This is our Waterloo baby! you want your city back, you gotta take it!

Yeah cool speech...the ending was pretty awesome too. I actually shouted yes! out loud before bursting into laughter; it was totally unexpected. Shame about the bit in between though.

De Noble was great (and very dubbed), he reminded me of the pervert in Hardware.

42ndStreetFreak

10-18-09, 10:35 PM

This is our Waterloo baby! you want your city back, you gotta take it!

Yeah cool speech...the ending was pretty awesome too.
I actually shouted yes! out loud before bursting into laughter; it was totally unexpected.
Shame about the bit in between though.

It certainly takes too long in getting him 'out there'...the prison scenes seem pointless for example, despite the great Woody Strode.
Nice shouting by the way! :cool:

Harry Lime

10-19-09, 12:31 AM

For the week...

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Sawdust and Tinsel (1953, Ingmar Bergman) 3.5
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Elevator to the Gallows (1958, Louis Malle) 3.5
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Antonio Gaudi (1984, Hiroshi Teshigahara) 3
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Youth of the Beast (1963, Seijun Suzuki) 4
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I Am Cuba (1964, Mikhail Kalatozov) 4
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Shadows (1959, John Cassavetes) 3

Sedai

10-19-09, 10:10 AM

spudracer

10-19-09, 10:23 AM

Year One (2009) - 2

This movie had a couple funny parts, but overall, was nothing but childish comedy. Remember when comedies were actually funny? Harold Ramis, you should be ashamed of yourself.

undercoverlover

10-19-09, 12:41 PM

Behind the Mask:The Rise of Leslie Vernon (Glosserman, 2006)

3_5

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A clever mockumentary, I ended up really digging this flick. Dark comedy is interspersed with clever nods to old franchises, and genuine suspense eventually weaves its way into the film, while never losing the parody angle. Surprisingly good.

i wrote my first short film with the same premise as this movie only i didn't know about this film till a year later. I'm going to have to actually watch this and see how close I was.

Sleezy

10-19-09, 04:28 PM

Sleezy

10-19-09, 05:38 PM

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Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze, 2009) 4_5

You've probably already heard, but Spike Jonze's adaptation of the Sendak classic is not the whimsical, uplifting film you might have been hoping for after viewing the wonderful trailer a few months ago. But that doesn't mean the film is any less remarkable.

I don't want to say too much about the plot, which obviously extends the source material to fill out a 90-minute feature. Long story short, the imaginative Max struggles with the insensitivity of the real world and ventures off on his own, stumbling upon the hideaway of the "Wild Things," a motley crew of monsters that are just as silly, imaginative, and unsorted as he.

Wild Things is an obvious examination of the childhood experience, and it's nice to see a film that isn't afraid to be goofy, nonsensical, angry, irrational, and terrified - a true reflection of the awkwardness of being a kid. In this way, we're forced to revisit our own childhoods - the silly games, the skyward curiosities; and yes, the pain, the confusion, and the powerlessness to make the world your own.

At its center, Wild Things is, finally, a validation of our time as children. Kids shouldn't have to bear the burden of loneliness and insecurity; and yet, invariably, they do. It's a part of life, and as an adult, you look back, remember, and hopefully make your peace. Because childhood is something you never get back, and that makes it worth celebrating.

TheUsualSuspect

10-19-09, 06:43 PM

Bad Moon (Eric Red, 1996) 2
Michael Pare goes to visit his sister (Mariel Hemingway) and nephew after being bitten by a werewolf and murdering some people in the woods. His reasoning? Maybe family love can cure the curse, duh. Dumb, by the numbers werewolf flick, hampered by Pare's wooden performance, and some truly awful CGI transformation sequences. Partially redeems itself with an exciting showdown sequence involving the family dog Thor (the biggest star of the movie) fighting the monster, but most likely forgettable unless you saw it as a kid.

I've been wanting to see this movie ever since I was a kid, but never got the chance to. I remember seeing the poster and thinking how awesome it looked.

mark f

10-20-09, 12:50 AM

I hope you forgive me. I'm listening to Vin Scully announce the Dodgers and some of these flicks aren't all that interesting, but I hope you appreciate the way I describe them. Above that, I've got all kinds of things with trying to pay off Sarah's USC tuition as well as trying to help her with her various problems involving such necessities as Concert Tickets! HA!

Bonjour Tristesse (Otto Preminger, 1958) 2.5

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The same year that David Niven won his Best Actor Oscar Award and that Deborah Kerr got another Best Actress nom for Separate Tables they teamed up with Preminger and Jean Seberg as Niven's daughter whose admiration for her father seems to be just a little bit unnatural. The flick is watchable but on the lightweight side. Seberg is supposed to be a Brat and she plays her part well, but sometimes it comes off as if somebody should at least give her a major league spanking, and then the movie would have had more power or even meaning.

Senior Prom (David Lowell Rich, 1958) 2///High School Confidential! (Jack Arnold, 1958) 2.5

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A couple of 1958 flicks about "high school life" with plenty of popular music for people to groove to. Senior Prom is more into the innocence of high school even if the significant others want to have sex before they get married. The musical guest stars include Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Mitch Miller, Bob Crosby, and even Ed Sullivan gets involved in the proceedings. There is nothing whatsoever special about it, but for those old enough to know who I'm talking about, it's certainly passable entertainment.

High School Confidential! scores extra points for being campy yet not completely hokey, plus the opening scene has Jerry Lee Lewis singing "Boppin' at the High School Hop" while playing the piano in the bed of a pickup truck! The flick is supposed to be all about kids smokin' weed, a narc infiltrating the school, a couple of hot blonde female grown-ups (Mamie Van Doren and Jan Sterling) and the leader of the school's "out-there" students, John Drew Barrymore who is actually quite entertaining doing mock-beat poetry. Just wait until Jackie Coogan shows up and tries to shoot heroin into Russ Tamblyn's arm! Maybe it's too cool for school!

7th Heaven (Frank Borzage, 1927) 3.5

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One of the greatest silent films ever, made at Fox Studios at the same time that Janet Gaynor made Sunrise there with F.W. Murnau. This is the perfect example of a film which utilizes the most-shameful melodrama to make superb entertainment. There is just something about the characters and Borzage's realistic, yet "angelic" direction (first Best Director in Oscar history) which makes this film seem far superior to any others which go out of their way to seem like 19th-century Simon Legree laugh-a-thons. Maybe I'm wrong, but Murnau and Borzage (often considered the most-romantic Hollywood director of the first decade of talkies) seemed to push each other to streamline silent storytelling and to especially create awesome sets for their films to live and breathe in. Gaynor's soul shines through the entire film in one of the greatest female performances of the '20s. Another thing to consider is that even before The Jazz Singer was released that this film played in theatres with a "filmed" musical score, some synchronized sound effects and a song at the end. Let me put it this way: even if you think this film is unbelievably hokey, you will be entertained and surprised, far beyond what you could ever imagine. Please report back to me because I've only scratched the surface of this flick. (I don't have the time... )

This DVD had the "restoration" of Borzage's The River which starred Charles Farrell from 7th Heaven and a sexy actress named Mary Duncan. It's full of sex, yet most of the rest of the plot was never filmed or lost. It looks like an enormous production though. I cannot give it a rating, but if you Netflix 7th Heaven, be sure to flip it over to see what's left of The River (1929).

Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983) 2.5

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There's something about Cronenberg. He comes up with terrific ideas (just like Carpenter did for years) and then he seems to come to some conclusion long before you and I get there. I'm not sure if that means that Cronenberg is brilliant in his concepts yet unable to control or play out these ideas, but sometimes when watching his films I get that idea. Videodrome seems to have a perfect Cronenberg plot, and James Woods and Debbie Harry go along with it wonderfully, but once we learn that the concept of "Videodrome" is to destroy yourself, then it just seems to be a lot less significant than what it started out to be. I mean, it does play out the way it says things have to be, but it also seems like Cronenberg should have allowed the concept to take itself another step further. As it is, it's over and done with before 90 minutes.

Thoroughly Modern Millie (George Roy Hill, 1967) 3.5

http://image.kazaa.com/images/41/602527019741/Soundtrack/Thoroughly_Modern_Millie/Soundtrack-Thoroughly_Modern_Millie_2.jpg

This is a wonderful spoof of '20s silent movies since it involves the White Slave Trade and a lot of classic songs from the '20s. The cast is especially wonderful (Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, James Fox, Carol Channing, John Gavin, silent screwball siren Beatrice Lillie and many others) and it's just a great combo of the silly and the knowledgable. The songs are hummable, the plot is wild and crazy and all the "racism" may not be totally forgivable but it seems to be all done with a grain of salt, considering the importance of the roles of Philip Ahn, Pat Morita and Jack Soo. I'm going to show Brenda The Boy Friend next because she wanted to relive this wonderful flick, but she's never even heard of the Ken Russell flick.

State of Play (Kevin Macdonald, 2009) 2.5

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I'm not sure what I think of Tony Gilroy. He seems to write and direct thrillers which just aren't very suspenseful or exciting. I liked Macdonald's Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland, but this one seems slightly weaker. It's certainly borderline watchable but it just doesn't add up to me as a significant flick, no matter how much effort they put into the sets and making the whole thing realistic. And no, I haven't seen the British mini-series which must be a lot better.

The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (Arthur Hiller, 1974) 2

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/Crazy_World_of_Julius_Vrooder.jpg

That image is 100% more creative than anything in the flick. Timothy Bottoms was just so awesome in The Last Picture Show and The Paper Chase that I feel almost sick to tell you that he is completely nondescript in this flick. I don't think he's all that horrible, but between him and Arthur Hiller, they do not seem to comprehend anything about a Vietnam veteran who has returned to the L.A. area in a mentally-challenged state and tries to live out a fantasy life to forget about the war. On the other hand, Barbara Seagull (Hershey) is totally-believable as Bottoms' nurse and love interest.

42ndStreetFreak

10-20-09, 01:23 PM

Cronenberg is a funny soul.

I love his film making, but I swing back and forth with his writing.
My 2 favourite Cronenberg films are "The Dead Zone" and "Crash"...from other sources.
And yet one of my least favourite is the crappy "Naked Lunch"....from another source again. So hey.

next up though are "rabid" and Shivers". As far as I know original works.

"Videodrome" to me is the classic example of my dilemma with him.
I love all the film in what it shows and how it is shown and acted...and yet the writing for me goes to pot in many places.
The basic plot of "Videodrome" is crazy, extreme, off the wall and brave and as such has no real need to vanish up it's own arse near the end.
It seems like Cronenberg decided that true art should be unfathomable...that no matter how weird, mad and distorted an idea/film is if the audience is actually following it...its failed, so we must explode it all with a tediously pretentious philosophical A(rse) bomb.
For there...in the rubble of what was once a great film anyway...is art's true from.

**** that ****.

"Videodrome" is not in the 'up its own arse for no reason' level as the worst examples of david Lynch though. Which is good. It still manages to retain that basic, for me essential, strand of coherence right up until the end.

I adore "Blue Velvet", "Twin Peaks" and especially "Wild at Heart". To me these are basically non-mainstream, extreme, bizarre, dream-like, warped, crazed, off the wall genius created by an obviously unique brain (even if "Wild" is again a separate basic source}.
Great. Surely this is enough for Lynch?
Nope...Instead, because he must have suffered the shock of some kind of success... he seems to have decided all that was surely not art after all so has spent the years since exploding those frustratingly pretentious A(rse) Bombs.

Both "Lost highway" and "Mulholland Drive" started off perfectly.
And they were once again, extreme, off the wall, wildly unusual and bizarre.
Great!
But then Lynch explodes his pretentious Arse Bomb and suddenly they become the equivalent of those hateful 'modern art' installations that get awards thrown at them by people who really only pretend to grasp (as any discussion with any group of people who thinks they all understand "Mulholland Drive" shows) what they are applauding.

For me Lynch now turns his films into one of these modern 'art' monstrosities whenever he can...
The kind of 'great' art where you stand in a white room with a microscopic black dot in the corner of one wall, a dead lizard (painted pink) lying on a chair in the middle of the floor and Mozart played backwards on the spoons being blasted out on a glass gramophone.
For that IS SURELY art? Yes?
No...It's just bollox.

Used Future

10-20-09, 01:29 PM

I've been wanting to see this movie ever since I was a kid, but never got the chance to. I remember seeing the poster and thinking how awesome it looked.

Well there's always Amazon; who knows you might like it. I borrowed the dvd off a friend.

TheUsualSuspect

10-20-09, 10:00 PM

Reservoir Dogs 4.5

Clue 4

Dead-Alive 4

Top Gun 3

4 movies in a row...boring night? Or great night?

mark f

10-21-09, 01:27 AM

Whatever you say about this post, it does utilize the original theatrical posters for the first three flicks.

Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) 5

http://www.starwars.com/movies/episode-iv/img/ep_iv.jpg

I realize that I'm one of those people who saw Star Wars at the theatre upon original release, twenty times in the first year, so to me, yes, it was something akin to the second coming of Jaws. No, this time the film didn't save my life, but I graduated from college just about a week after the film came out, so it did seem to come along as the completion of the Jaws miracle two years previously. Nowadays it's usually taken for granted that people think that The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the series, but I still don't buy it personally. Sure, the sequel is more-serious and darker, more-operatic, introduces the Jedi Yoda, and has one of the greatest reveals in film history, but it's just not really all that fun and then it ends anti-climatically. I love The Empire Strikes Back, but I love Star Wars much more.

For all its seeming ripoff of legends and tales from all over the world (and it's not my place here to discuss those; they have been discussed at the site elsewhere), Star Wars still feels fresh and new to me. I'll be the first to say that the acting and dialogue may seem weak here and there, but in the context of the entire stand-alone film and awesome universe and characters created, Star Wars deserves as much slack as just about any film I can think of. It's not meant to be all that deep, yet it easily becomes "the stuff that dreams are made of". Besides that, for all the acting you may think is weak, much of it actually fits the youngish characters, and to balance them out, you have the wonderful Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing and the overpowering voice of James Earl Jones.

I know that a lot of people hate Lucas based on his constant tinkering of the old trilogy and what they see as a raping with the new trilogy, but Star Wars was cool from the get-go and it still remains cool and just one of the most fun film experiences a child of any age can have. I put Star Wars on last week with a friend who hadn't even seen the version with all the changes and the extra F/X, and we both became little kids again. We didn't give a crap who shot first because we both remembered who shot first. It's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, at least it's not worth changing your opinion on what rating to give Star Wars. Go ahead and give Lucas some personal low ratings if you feel the need, but please don't attack the film (I have it in multiple incarnations, including the original release). I guess in this case, you can switch around the saying about "attack the message, but not the messenger."

Anyway, why do I love Star Wars? The opening scene with the Empire starship flying over your head at the beginning attacking Princess Leia's ship is still as memorable as it ever was. Tattoine is an awesome planet, containing tons of non-human life and the awesome space port of Mos Eisley and its charming cantina. No matter what Guinness thought of his character or dialogue, his Obi-Wan Kenobi is an awesome anchor to give this seemingly-lightweight film some needed extra gravitas. The switch to Warp Speed and the attack on the Death Star trench are two of the greatest scenes I've ever seen with a packed audience where everyone went insane laughing and clapping. John Williams did compose better scores than he did for the Star Wars series, but 95% of people will always remember him for the Star Wars films.

Just to remind people that Star Wars is actually full of wit or at least some form of humor, what about these bon mots of dialogue: "Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal." "Don't call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight glob of grease." "Who's the more foolish: The fool, or the fool who follows him?" "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" "Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me." "It's a wonder you're still alive." "Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?" "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought." "So, what do you think of her, Han? "I'm tryin' not to, kid." "Good." "Still, she's got a lot of spirit. I don't know, whaddya think? You think a princess and a guy like me... " "No." "Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookiee." "But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid." "That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that." "I have a very bad feeling about this." "One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner." "Garbage chute. Really wonderful idea. What an incredible smell you've discovered!" "It could be worse." "It's worse." "Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them."

May the Force be with You.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981) 5

http://www.beachtheatre.com/images/nowplaying/raidersofthelostark.jpg

I guess that poster pretty much explains why I have to love this flick, but no, it's just a coincidence. ;) I tend to think of this as a Spielberg flick rather than a Lucas one, but I guess you'll look at it whatever way you do. Since this film came out well after Jaws and Star Wars, I saw this one at the theatre that summer less than I saw the others; this time, it was only 17 times. I can remember buying some tickets for my second viewing (believe it or not, the first time was a sneak preview, a process which seems to have "gone with the wind"), and while I was waiting at the next-door fast food joint, I heard some teenage girls describe the movie as "Star Wars but without any boring parts". Raiders doesn't have any boring parts, but it does have some stretches where the filmmakers try to expand the suspense and mystery in ways slightly different than the other flicks and it does have a little bit of exposition. Of course, it also has Harrison Ford becoming another star character in Indy. It's an awesome adventure, but I guess, to quote Holden, "Your mileage may vary" (even though I can't help but think that Holds took that from Indy's line about "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.")

The thing which made Raiders so popular was that the opening scene grabbed everybody. True, it was basically an homage to '30s serials, but almost nobody who went to see the movie, repeatedly, had ever seen any serials. Raiders may have the greatest opening of any film I've seen, and I dare anyone to see the first ten minutes and then say they don't want to watch the rest. The thing is that after the opening, the film is crammed with set pieces, such as the drinking duel in the Himalayas followed by Indy's return to the very antagonistic Marion (Karen Allen), in a scene where Spielberg showcases the fact that this film is really about shadows. (Raiders has more significant shadows that any film I've seen, and Spielberg tried to carry on with the other three films, but never quite topped this one for shadow effects.) Immediately, we're enveloped in a machine gun battle with lots of fire. The other set-pieces include the kidnapping of Marion, the discovery and digging for the Lost Ark, the enclosure in the "Crypt" with the snakes, the Flying Wing fistfight, the truck scene (which may well be the greatest action scene in film history), the steamer/submarine scene, and the reveal of the Lost Ark scene (which to me is incredibly violent and scary, but is still shown uncut on commercial TV).

Raiders doesn't have as many memorable characters as Star Wars, but if you count all the Nazis, it's damn close. Besides that, it's actually set on Earth which (surprisingly) gives it an other-worldly quality. The flick has another ton of witty dialogue. Should I quote it? Oh, hell, why not? "This is it... This is where Forrestall cashed in." "A friend of yours?" "A competitor... he was good. He was very good." "You Americans, you're all the same. Always overdressing for the wrong occasions." "Wave it at anything that slithers." "The whole place is slitherin'." "There's a big snake in the plane, Jock. "Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie." "I hate snakes, Jock. I hate 'em." "C'mon, show a little backbone, will ya?" "You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do." "Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes? "Asps. Very dangerous. You go first."

Of course, I've been known to say that Temple of Doom is the best of the Indy flicks, and I still stand by that, but when I edit my Favorite Films, I'll definitely factor that in if I have to.

A Pocketful of Miracles (Frank Capra, 1961) 2.5

http://www.aintitcool.com/images2008/Pocketful1.jpg

Capra's last film is a remake of one of his most-beloved flicks, Lady For a Day. This version is OK, but it really explains why Capra had to retire after he almost embarrassingly was "forced" to release this flick in 1961. This version of the story of Apple Annie (Bette Davis) is still set in the middle of the Depression, but it's filmed in widescreen color and is 40 minutes longer than Capra's original, which was rightly nominated for a Best Picture when its story really mattered, and it provided so many people with so much hope and joy. I give the original flick 3.5, and it's one of the best feel-good films of the early 1930s. If you knew nothing about the original, this version is passable, but if you think you like this version, please try to watch the original ASAP, so you can see how the Capra Magic was originally intended to be understood and enjoyed.

The Children's Hour (William Wyler, 1961) 3.5

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OK now, you have to trust me that this 1961 remake is better than the original, unlike the last film, although maybe "better" is the wrong word. This version, which is far more faithful than the same director's These Three 25 years earlier, isn't really any more entertaining or enlightening, but it's more faithful to Lillian Hellman's original play. These Three basically omitted the lesbian angle and turned it into a menage a trois so the Hays Code would actually pass it, but since the original play did seem to deal more with children's lies than sexual orientation, that earlier film is one which didn't really suffer all that much for quieting down the L-Word. As it is, these two flicks represent the same kind of adolescent dynamics and politics which the recent Where the Wild Things Are follows. They both detail extreme emotional lives where the youngsters can highly affect the lives of other youngsters and the adults responsible for them. In that way, Where the Wild Things Are is a much-more kid-friendly, and for that matter, it's even more adult-friendly, so please don't dis Spike Jonze' new flick because no matter how dark or blah you think it is, it can definitely be seen as something which is positive for both adults and kids. In The Children's Hour, Audrey Hepburn is her usual excellent self, but Shirley MacLaine really shines in the more difficult role and she also seems damned sexy too.

Iroquois

10-21-09, 02:40 AM

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Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003) - 3.5

This was a solid film, even if it did seem a little too emotionally manipulative for my liking. Or maybe I should've just given over to its delightfully charming sense of wonder and melancholy (which I did to a certain extent) but I don't necessarily think that makes it an absolutely spectacular film. Filled with colourful characters and some truly unexpected twists and turns (even if it did seem a bit too reminiscient of Forrest Gump or even The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - it's not just me who noticed the similarities that Big Fish had to those films, right?), it was definitely an entertaining film and even touching to a degree.

http://owlpellets.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/rumble-fish.jpg

Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983) - 2

I've heard a couple of mixed opinions about Coppola's monochromatic portrait of juveline delinquency, and I realised that there wasn't anything particularly special about it. Mickey Rourke's softly spoken turn as the Motorcycle Boy was cancelled out to some extent by Matt Dillon's tough-talking Rusty James and the other dubious performances (with the possible exception of Dennis Hopper as their alcoholic father). I did find it seemed too arty, namely as a result of various camera tricks and special effects such as time-lapse photography or an unconscious Rusty having an out-of-body experience. While it was done alright, it did seem to jar with what seemed to be a down-to-earth story and characters (or maybe it's just a matter of "acute perceptions").

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Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994) - 4

More often than not, I don't write up tabs for films I re-watch. In the case of Ed Wood (a film I haven't seen in a few years), I feel like making a not-so-uncommon exception. Why? Well, as some of you have probably noticed I've been going through Tim Burton films lately, and as a result I figured I'd rewatch Ed Wood, which I tend to rank as my personal favourite of Burton's movies. What gives it the edge over other "popular" Burton films, though? There are some delightfully wacky performances - from Johnny Depp's uncanny turn as the eternally optimistic Wood, to Martin Landau's Oscar-winning turn as a washed-up Bela Lugosi, and all points in between (Bill Murray as a wannabe drag queen stands out especially well). The film plays close to typical biopic conventions, but that doesn't make the story any less madcap and entertaining, all shot through with smooth black-and-white photography and Howard Shore's brilliantly executed score. As I said before, this is probably my favourite Burton film.

zedlen

10-21-09, 05:29 AM

I Sell The Dead
Glenn McQuaid 2008

http://i2.fc-img.com/fc03img/Comcast_CIM_Prod_Fancast_Image/62/1022/1247684444740_7I-Sell-the-Dead-mif_640_320.jpg

I'm a fan of Dominic Monaghan, his attitude off screen as well as his acting. Ron Perlmen as well is an interesting guy and this story came across as unique so I was excited to catch this. Two grave diggers start unearthing zombies/vampires, mishap and mayhem follow. Sounds good but it wasn't. Or at least that good. I Sell The Dead is a film on a budget and its noticeable, not that I'm picky that way, its just the story never took enough for me to buy the cheap props. Maybe I'm being harsh, there are a few laughs and taken lightly is a bit of fun.

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9
Shane Acker 2009

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Despite a lack of depth, I loved the animation and creativity. Check out my review here. (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=575169)

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Bonnie and Clyde
Arthur Penn 1967

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I see the appeal in there doomed romance and tragic end and the acting is excellent, I just didn't enjoy it that much to be honest.

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Malky

10-21-09, 08:38 AM

Chaplin 4

Really enjoyed this star studded biopic. Downey jnr was brilliant as Chaplin especially in the physical comedy routines which were impeccable, solid performances were had by all.

Golgot

10-21-09, 11:23 AM

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Good Will Hunting

Can't say i was blown away. Sensitively directed by Van Sant and that, and the boys-made-good hold their own. Story's pretty by the numbers though. I didn't believe William's sudden 'menacing' turn defending his wife's honour, altho the relationship between him and Damon was probably the strongest strand of the film. For all the pleasing pops at exclusive academia, and focus on inner walls that can brick others out of our lives, the 'genius' strand seem to float free on its own, a bit pleased with its own 'street' novelty.

3

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Millions Like Us

A propaganda docu-flick through and through, but a perfectly watchable one, with the plucky 1943 blitz-spirit pitched at just the right level to draw you into the brew. The focus is mainly on women working the factories, and a couple of relationships that evolve. Sidney 'Green For Danger' Gilliat & Frank 'St Trinians' Launder keep everything moving along with a certain charm, helped ably by the leads.

3

42ndStreetFreak

10-21-09, 11:46 AM

Zedlen:

I'm a huge Gangster film fan, but "Bonnie and Clyde" never did anything for me either.
It was one of the first cracks in the dam that would see the old Hollywood system washed away by those daring young turks....But as a film in its own right I've never liked it at all.

Used Future

10-21-09, 06:32 PM

I love Bonnie and Clyde. I love the period detail, beautiful scenery, depression era ambiance, wonderful performances (especially Michael J. Pollard), and poignant ending (that look they give each other). One of the best films of the 60's for sure. I just wish the UK dvd was widescreen.

zedlen

10-21-09, 07:42 PM

mark f

10-21-09, 09:08 PM

Not only what Used said, but I think that some people don't seem to realize that Bonnie and Clyde is about 75% a comedy. Arthur Penn took his shoot-from-the-hip style and blurring of genre lines even further up the ladder in Little Big Man.

TheUsualSuspect

10-21-09, 11:45 PM

Ghostbusters 4

Ghostbusters II 3

jrs

10-22-09, 12:07 AM

District 9 5

http://i36.tinypic.com/duuyg.jpg

42ndStreetFreak

10-22-09, 06:38 AM

Not only what Used said, but I think that some people don't seem to realize that Bonnie and Clyde is about 75% a comedy. .

So it's not only a rather dull gangster film...it's an unfunny comedy as well?! :p

Seriously, I've always been surprised by my lack of enthusiasm for "B & C", but no matter how many times I happen to catch it my view does not change. Even if years least between viewings.
Hey ho.

"Cannibal Terror" - 1

Two low life crooks named Mario and Roberto, with the help of their big breasted female companion,decide to kidnap a young girl named Florence from her wealthy parents and ransom her.

But the plan gets ruined and they have to flee into a cannibal infested jungle…

Briefly on the infamous UK ‘Video Nasties’ list, “Cannibal Terror” was quickly removed and promptly sank without a trace, only to re-appear, fully uncut and approved by the BBFC, in 2003.
And boy, do we wish it had stayed lost!

Filmed in Spanish locations (badly standing in for South America) "Cannibal Terror" is a Production of the dreaded ‘Eurociné’ (who also vomited out “Zombie Lake”) and the low quality they often aim for is here in spades.

The movie’s opening credits are backed by a catchy, jaunty (if completely out of place) piece of music the lures us into the trap of thinking the film will at least be full of energy.
Far from it sadly and the rest of the music decides to fit in with the hellish stupor that washes over all who dare to carry on watching as it consists mostly of an annoying beeping noise, repetitive drones and something that sounds like radio interference.

The soundtrack horrors don’t end at the music though as we are bombarded by some (even by Euro Trash standards) awful dubbing and truly inane dialogue.
Whether the dialogue is authentic to the screenplay or a creation of the dubbing process I have no idea…But it’s bad.
Though some entertainment value is clawed from it.
How about this gem, as the crooks and the ‘companion of prominent breasts’ argue;
Man: “You mind your own ass”
Breasts: “My ass is go f*ck yourself” (!?)

The uneventful script drags the film’s pace to a crawl but so does the lousy direction and editing as we have to endure plenty of scenes where actors say their lines and obviously then have no idea what to do next as the camera lingers on their nervous and confused faces.
And boy, does the director like to film people walking a lot.
A trek into cannibal land by our fleeing kidnappers must go on for a solid ten minutes of screen-time, broken only be the occasional shot of a bored looking cannibal skulking behind a bush.
One brief attack scene later, we’re back to another massive portion of walking along footage, backed by more of those annoying burps and farts that pass for a musical score.

And seeing as the entire thing was shot in less than mysterious and exotic Spain, as opposed to the genuine Amazonian treks that Deodato and Lenzi undertook for their cannibal flicks, we of course have no ancient, deep, half-forgotten jungles here for our cannibals to dwell in. Oh no. Instead we have just grass and scrub land. with the odd, rather sick looking, trees and the occasional rock thrown in.
And when combined with the short and easy jeep ride our kidnappers take to get to, it means we get the impression that the general area where this supposedly wild tribe of stone age cannibals actually live is 5 miles out of town on a derelict piece of land soon to be a developed as a shopping mall.

The native’s camp has a few bigger trees around it, but their wide spacing, the bright sunshine and the lack of any actual undergrowth means we have none of that stifling, oppressive, mysterious, majestic atmosphere of a true undiscovered civilisation that we get from the likes of “Cannibal Holocaust” or “Cannibal Ferox”.

The cannibals themselves have of course gone down in bad movie history as perhaps the worst seen in the genre.
And for good reason.
A bit of cheap face paint can’t hide the fact that this tribe is made up of confused Spanish locals filled out with a bunch of tanned white dudes in bad wigs, who seem to be having a ball playing dress up and grinning at the camera.
It looks like am overly ambitious frat party out in the countryside where Billy Bob decided it would be cool to dress up like natives, have a BBQ, get drunk and go ‘ugga bugga’ round the world’s wimpiest camp fire.
Although saying that there is also a balding, paunchy, accountant type playing at being cannibals too. And this guy unfortunately figures prominently in many shots, thus exploding even the slightest chance there ever could have been of portraying an even remotely effective bunch of flesh eaters.

‘Do we at least have some nudity’ I hear you cry!
Yes indeedy we do.
We have a full frontal bath tub scene which is very welcome, but again even this is handled badly and is all we get.

Even the gore effects are equally bad and obvious in their execution.
We admire the way the makers decided to shove the gore right in the viewer’s face…we really do…but they could at least have tried to hide the fact that the ‘lost locals/frat boy cannibals’ are simply ripping at a pig’s carcass in the first gore scene.
It’s true the (long) scenes of guts, flesh, and various innards being pulled out, ripped apart and generally messed with are suitably gross, but the fact it simply looks like a dead pig being mauled means any shock and horror is lost.
Check out a similar slaughter sequence in “Jungle Holocaust” to see how a genuinely disturbing cannibal feast should be filmed and constructed.

Nothing else of note happens until we get another full-on bit of pig abuse at the end.
And if the fact we were seeing a pigs carcass was obvious in the first scene, here it’s spelt out in neon letters fifty foot high!
Classic bad moment to end them all is when, despite the quick cut away from it, we clearly see a split pig carcass on its back, held by it’s front legs, being supposedly cut open with a big sword.
I care not how many weak cries of supposed human suffering they dub over the poor porker , of that they squeezed a pair of blue jeans onto its back legs (I kid you not) , this is perhaps the most shockingly unconvincing gore sequence I have seen since the papier-mâché head in the rubber crocodile’s mouth abused my senses in “Brutes and Savages”.

The big surprise (and shame) is that the film simply doesn’t play at all (dubbing aside) like those Euro Trash movies we love so much.
There is a certain feel ,a certain tone and vibe to Euro Trash flicks of the late 70’s early 80’s that they all share, now matter how diverse.
“Cannibal Terror” though truly plays and feels (even though it is shot on film) like one of the many no budget, shot on a friend’s video camera, Indy outfit American films that clog up the shelves of budget stores everywhere.
It’s a tragedy of epic proportions…
This is more “Camp Blood” than “Zombi 2”.

Overall then a complete and utter stinker. A total waste of celluloid and one of the worst (though perhaps not quite the worst, maybe) films on the ‘Video Nasties’ list.
Trust me…Just don’t bother.

B-card

10-22-09, 11:51 PM

Ok so its 3:23 AM Greenwich time(London time) the reason I am writing so late is that I watched a movie.Lately haven't logged many movies that I have seen but there was nothing impressive
Surrogates-Matrix meets I robot in 80 min.(sh1t)
I love you Beth Cooper-I wanted an easy cheesy comedy with a lot of laughs but got disappointed(sh1t)
and there were other movies that I have seen many times like Predator,300 and Ocean's thirteen
Pi was really good even though its really confusing movie and I might need to watch it again but still great style of shooting, soundtrack(Clint Mansel rules)

and to get to the point of this post

Few days ago a friend of mine from L.A. told me she went to see Paranormal Activity(just to let you know I know only that it was by the people who made Blair Witch project)so after the movie she asked a friend of hers to sleep over at first I am like ok so she is a girl(yes I know Blair Witch was ****** scary but you can't use the same trick twice can you?) So it's 1:10AM the movie is waiting for me on the lap top,turn off the lights my roommates are asleep everything is quiet I put my headphones and hit play.Well the banner said it don't see it alone,for the next hour and a half I had so many cold chills that ran through my spine that every time I wanted to press escape and go to bed but I might as well finish it,you have no Idea how bad I wanted it to finish(right now as I am typing my hands are still shaky)and believe my I love horror but I couldn't recall that horror more like Freaky actually extremely freeky I have never been more scared in my life watching a movie so be warned fellow MoFo's I hope you havent seen trailers or any info about the movie it will make it even better for you.OK so I will go now play some music and hopefully fall asleep listening.
5

Malky

10-23-09, 10:28 AM

Ong Bak 23

Fight scenes were amazing the non fight scenes were crap, but that is what I expected. The fight choregraphy was phenomenal. Tony Jaa with weapons is a good thing

TheUsualSuspect

10-25-09, 01:46 AM

The people who made Blair Witch did not make Paranormal Activity

SAW VI (Kevin Greutert)

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Can We Finally Put A Nail In This Coffin?

With Special Agent Strahm dead, Hoffman can continue Jigsaw's work and make more people stare death in the face for a chance at redemption. Although, not everything goes according to his plans, as two agents are hot on his tracks.

Okay, so you know the gist of what the film is about. It's exactly the same as every other SAW film. A killer puts someone in a trap, twists and turns and boom, leave room for another film. This one is no different. First being tagged as the final SAW film. The one to complete Jigsaw's true game, it leaves the viewer with an emptiness and false promises.

Once you get into a number as high as 6, in a horror franchise, you know the film can't be that good. It seemed that SAW somehow broke that trend and gave it's fans what they wanted. Sure, the quality has dropped with every new entry, but it's not like the films are horribly bad. Saw V was the worst of the bunch, I dreaded the next one. Yet to my surprise, this one is a step up.

What this series has manage to do is keep a continuous mystery throughout every film. Each new film would add another piece to a puzzle that fans just ate up. What's on the tape, what's in the box, what's in the letter, etc. Keeping an audience interested in a series this long, I give them props. Making a new SAW film every year in time for Halloween and not having them be excessively bad. I also give props to. In the end, the SAW series is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

I love the first one, the rest have gone from mediocre to bad. This one falls into the mediocre category. It has all the gore, all the elaborate traps all the confusion the others have, yet I didn't come away as ticked off or as dirty as I did with V. I still find Hoffman to be a poor substitute for Jigsaw. I'm not a fan of their explanation for his final, true game. I'm not even a fan of the traps in this one, yet the film managed to be entertaining.

I laughed at parts I shouldn't have, I cheered for scenes that involved mutilation of body parts. For an average movie goer, I'd tell them to avoid this one, but for a fan of the series, I say enjoy. It tidies up a lot of unanswered questions and yes, leaves the door open for the next installment. One I hope I don't have to see, but will obviously end up watching.

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and

Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli)

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A Theatre Experience I'll Never Forget

A Theatre Experience I'll Never Forget., 24 October 2009
A couple decide to document their nights while the sleep, after they hear strange noises that they believe to be a haunting.

I respect this film, for the fact that it was shot for less than 20,000, had absolutely no marketing campaign and has become a huge success based on word of mouth and the audience demanding to see it. If only other studios would follow suit and listen to people demanding to see movies they want to see, maybe there wouldn't be so much crap out there.

Paranormal Activity is shot like Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project, REC, Cannibal Holocaust, etc. If any of those films gave you motion sickness, you might want to skip this one. Half the film is shot while they sleep, so the film is on a tri-pod, the other half is them walking around with it. So if you've never been a fan of those films, skip this one. Second, the film is not as scary as people make it out to be. Instead, it is one creepy and suspenseful film, that seeing in a theatre, only heightened my enjoyment of it.

The audience I went with, all had a collective "Oh My God". I could hear it every time something creepy happened. You could literally feel everyone in the theatre holding their breath every time they went to sleep. Again, if you are the type of person who wants to watch a film and not hear a peep out of anyone else, skip this film.

Now the film itself, shot in one week, small (very small) budget and every penny of it went towards the special effects. The special effects are what sell the film, if you don't buy them, the film will not creep you out. They looked real and impressive enough to push the film into a successful goal, which is to scare people. If you are already afraid of the dark, this film will not help you. Every creek, thump, noise you hear in your house will now have you thinking twice.

Less is more, The Blair Witch Project uses this, as does Paranormal Activity. The two leads, are haunted by a demon, one we never see, only hear. Whenever you go into a horror film, as a kid you would close your eyes in fear. Big mistake, because it's the ears you need to be covering. The sound is what makes you jump, hear nothing, fear nothing. The sound design behind this film is what is scary people, accompanied by the visuals (memorable scenes with the powder and bed sheets).

As the film progresses, the haunting gets worse. I don't want to give anything away, and I urge you to not watch the trailer. I watched the trailer and was waiting for those things to happen, it took away from the general fear. Not knowing what to expect will make this film that much better, that much creepier and that much more entertaining. I didn't expect it to be as funny as it was either, the lead male had some comic relief dialogue, the ease the tension.

The couple are believable, the hand held camera angle works here and the fear will set in. I applaud Paranormal Activity, for not only becoming an unheard of success, but for being one of the creepiest films I've ever seen.

Bravo.

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Classicqueen13

10-25-09, 02:22 AM

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I got Really into this movie. It was pretty intense from start to finish with plenty of excitement. The plot in its complexity even made sense. The acting was very good despite some of the characters becoming annoying at times. A few jump-out-of-your seat moments and some psycho bad guys keep you on your toes. I really liked this one.

4

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This film got some bad rep, but I had to give it a shot for Harrison Ford. I was very pleased with it. I thought Brad Pitt was good. The action seemed a little sparse after the tense opening, but things began to piece together and excitement grew. Some surprisingly good dialouge for an action flick. There were a few points where I felt things were a little too unrealistic, but overall I can see myself re-watching this one.

4

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A fascinating drama and bittersweet tale. I missed the beginning, but I caught on quick and enjoyed it. I thought Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange were great and had wonderful chemistry. This sort of film isn't my favorite, but it was well worth the watch. I really had fun looking at the costumes involved.

3.5

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Very nice classic film with a terrific cast. Julie Andrews, James Garner, and James Coburn were fantastic. Some of the best bits of acting I've seen in awhile. The script has a few good speeches and a few lines of comic relief. The movie contains a very different way of looking at things that I probably will understand even better after a rewatch.

4

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What a waste of my time. I usually like Anne Hathaway, but I didn't expect a lot from this movie. I was still disappointed. Patrick Wilson didn't appeal to me as the romantic lead. The sentiment falls flat and the script is bland. The worst part was the mystery that at the climax had me so confused I had to pause for something of a recap. Then, when I thought it couldn't get much worse, the plot twist is about as unoriginal as it can get. Don't bother with this one.

1

During my recap, all I could think of was The Sixth Sense plot twist. Which is what the resolution unfortunately turned out to be.

Used Future

10-25-09, 06:59 AM

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Chosen Survivors (Sutton Roley, 1974) 2.5
Standard sci-fi shocker about a specially selected group of civilians chosen to survive the nuclear holocaust in a state of the art bunker. There to provide vital information is the complex supercomputer which, much to their horror, shows them the destruction taking place on the surface. They also have Richard Jaeckel from The Green Slime as a naive army major who has a tough job preventing the inevitable group conflict, and Jackie Cooper (who steals it) as an arrogant millionaire with a penchant for getting drunk and shooting his mouth off. Naturally it all goes horribly wrong when a horde of man eating vampire bats invade the complex to chow down on our miserable heroes. There's a sneaky doctor who knows more than he's letting on, and a token black character who was only 'chosen' as a stud service. I found Chosen Survivors a little on the slow side, with merely adequate performances (Cooper aside), and truly horrible bright lighting (or was it just the dvd transfer?) that left me with a headache. Once the bats are introduced however, the film becomes rather exciting, with a couple of surprisingly gory kills, and a genuinely tense penultimate climbing sequence. Sure it's daft, and you can see the intended revelatory twist coming a mile off, but it has it's moments, and delivers some decent suspense.

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Across 110th Street (Barry Shear, 1972) 4+
Where's this film been all my life? A trio of black hoods dressed as police rob $300,000 from a group of mafioso before gunning them down along with a couple of real cops who give chase. Enter Anthony Franciosa, as bigoted mob heavy Nick D'Salvio charged with tracking them down and wreaking bloody revenge. Also on their trail is corrupt police Captain Mattelli (Anthony Quinn on blistering form) forced to work with a black detective Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto) as the case leads them into Harlem, and racial tensions mount.

This film blew me away. The first thing that struck me was Shear's uncompromisingly gritty authentic direction, that borders on documentary style with it's off kilter, fly on the wall camera work, dilapidated tenement locations, and extreme violence. The dialogue positively fizzes, with excellent interplay between D'Salvo and Richard Ward as the husky voiced Harlem crime boss who stands up to the mob; not to mention the relationship between Mattelli and Pope which intelligently tackles issues of departmental racism, police brutality, corruption, public relations, and politics. Very much of it's time, this film is potently charged with the issues of the day; it's angry, menacing, and threatens to explode, but Shears keeps it perfectly paced and coherent despite the somewhat convoluted story. Every character here is completely believable and memorable, with the fugitive robbers fleshed out as sympathetic desperate men, lending extra weight and tension to the inevitable thrilling (and extremely downbeat) climax. Across 110th Street is a bonafide classic that easily ranks up with the best crime films I've seen, and effortlessly rises above the blaxploitation films that followed. Oh and I forget to mention blaxploitation regular Antonio Fargas is great in this doing his usual strung out act, and look out for Burt Young in a small part.

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Chained Heat (Paul Nicholas, 1983) 2.5
A great b-movie cast distinguishes this otherwise mediocre entry into the women-in-prison exploitation sub-genre. Linda Blair plays Carol; a timid first timer on an eighteen month stretch for manslaughter who gets more than she bargained for after ending up in a prison run by (the always watchable, and perfectly cast) John Vernon. I mean if you can't get Barbara Steele in a wheelchair then a sex crazed Vernon is definitely the next best thing. Naturally he's crooked, video taping regular sex sessions with prisoners in exchange for drugs supplied by his chief of security; the sadistic Captain Taylor (Stella Stevens) and sleazy pimp Lester (Henry Silva). Soon young innocent Carol is attracting the attention of resident queen Bee Erika (prison flick regular Sybil Danning) and making all the wrong moves by buddying up to Erika's black rival, Dutchess (Cleopatra Jones herself Tamara Dobson). Filled with the obligatory cat fights, and sporting the essential nude shower scene; it's not long before rape and murder play a part forcing the girls into direct action by acquiring an incriminating video tape. I thought this was cliche ridden nonsense bouyed by Vernon's sleazy turn as the governor, and Danning's hilarious posturing. Everything about it felt strictly by the numbers to me, and my attention wandered on a couple of occasions. Blair is nowhere near as fun here as she was in Savage Streets, but gets her waps out, and the film has a very nasty vibe about it. I'm also sure this was a cut version though because some of the editing was very abrupt, and the graphic violence looked toned down. Still it passed the time.

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The Sect aka The Devil's Daughter (Michele Soavi, 1991) 3.5-
Kelly Curtis (Jamie's younger sister) plays Miriam; a primary school teacher chosen by Herbert Lom's cult of devil worshipers 'The Faceless Ones' to give birth to the anti-Christ. Yup it's another Rosemary's Baby variant, but stamped with a typically whacked out script from Argento, and laced with his protege Michele Soavi's own inimitable visual style. Not a film for casual horror fans; this starts out slow and confusing before hitting it's stride in the second act and never looking back. The story unfolds in a very cryptic dreamlike fashion, beginning with 'the Faceless Ones' loose back story, before picking up with Miriam taking in an old man called Moebius (Lom) after nearly running him over on a country road. All of a sudden he's at deaths door, but his body disappears after Miriam goes for a doctor, prompting her to search the house extensively. Soon she's discovering strange occult looking chambers in her basement, having surreal nightmares, and getting jiggy with a giant stork; all whilst Lom's evil handkerchief proceeds to possess a series of people turning them into psychotic killers!?

I've got to admit I was confused and bored stiff for the first twenty five minutes of The Sect as the script seemed to noodle around with no focus. Once Moebius arrives at Miriam's house however; the fun begins as the story takes on some direction. I've always thought Soavi's atmospheric visual style similar to that of Guillermo Del Toro, complimented by the baroque operatic stylings of Argento and Bava. The Sect didn't disappoint in this respect, as the film transformed into an intriguing occult fairytale come horror mystery, let down only by it's unfathomably (and downright slushy) optimistic ending, and the aforementioned pacing issues. It's also filled with bizarre camera angles, wonderful lighting, and has a nice understated score from Pino Donaggio helping to instill the story with an aura of menace and magic. Overall I really did enjoy this one, and imagine it will reward repeat viewings. Sure the basic plot is as old as the hills, but it's what Argento and Soavi bring to the party that makes The Sect something special. I would recommend this one to patient horror fans looking for a change of pace from the current glut of gory zom-coms and torture porn films.

zedlen

10-25-09, 08:14 AM

North By Northwest
Alfred Hitchcock 1959

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I had doubts here and there but by the end I was impressed. full marks.

Golgot

10-25-09, 09:41 AM

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The Messengers

2

Meh. Kinda nice cinematography in places, but pretty much a tension-free derivative jumble of sensory jabs and creaky 'animation' that didn't gel at all from Oxide and bro.

42ndStreetFreak

10-25-09, 07:53 PM

North By Northwest
Alfred Hitchcock 1959

I had doubts here and there but by the end I was impressed. full marks.

I wish the green screen climax did not look so awful though. Those cliff hanging shots are truly dire, even for the era.

But like many Hitch films...FX were always exceedingly poor. Almost as if such a technical, non-dramatic, side of movies does not interest him.

The matte work here is as bad as the laughable 'Cruise liner docked at the end of the road' shot in "Marnie" and the cringe making 'simply shove in a still picture of her face to show she is dead' shot after the (otherwise excellent) strangling scene in "Frenzy"

Did Hitch truly have so little technical knowledge of film that he did not think of the fact that film has constantly moving grain that we see even if we don't notice, and that a still picture does not!

For such a master film maker...this almost amateur approach to certain technical matters is astonishing.

42ndStreetFreak

10-25-09, 08:55 PM

"Ripper" - 2

Hmmmm....After a pretty good opening this then gets rather plodding (long running time for a horror film actually) for a while until coming to life again.

A killer sees to be offing obnoxious student types in ways similar to Jack the Ripper.
It has a few bloody moments and keeps you guessing.
The finale is chaotic, reveal filled, fun and the very end....well....seems to have really been the thing that has given this film any sort of profile.
I for one thought that very final twist (simply a 2 second scene before the credits) was pretty easy to understand and that the movie had a perfectly satisfying explanation.
But it seems other people have other ideas and much debate still goes on on-line.

A forgotten and generally hated sequel has a continuing (though not needed, the first film does end) plot that seems to confirm the obvious as well.

Not bad. Just average fare.

"From Hell" - 2.5

Blimey. A film filled with good moments that still manages to defeat itself with so many avoidable bad ones.

My biggest gripe with this (and annoying surprise, as I had not read the Moore comic or heard about the film's plot) is that it re-does (YET AGAIN!!) the widely discredited to extinction theory that the 'Jack the Ripper' murders were to do with the Royal Family.

This idea was flitting around for a few years but not until the wacky self-publicist Stephen Knight wrote the infamous "Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution" did it truly take hold as Knight was a pretty good storyteller and added lots of really juicy rubbish to the basic conspiracy by involving high up people and The Masons.

Despite endless tomes (all pretty much dubious research, speculation and manipulation themselves) utterly blowing apart Knight's theory and Knight himself called out for blatantly ignoring known facts that did not back up his theory...this is without doubt the most successful and enduring Ripper myth even today.

As well as Knight's book there was TV 'documentary' of his ideas (used on the "From Hell" DVD extras, which ironically also shoots down this conspiracy that "From Hell" uses!), another book defense of it (badly done and full of falsehoods) in 1991 and of course the (otherwise quite clever,entertaining, and very atmospheric) film version of the 'Royal link', that also added Sherlock Holmes, "Murder by Decree".
There was also a, pre-Knights version, retelling of the basic theory in another Holmes vs The Ripper flick "A Study in Terror".

So excuse me if I did not need another version of it all with "From Hell"!

The film also shoots itself in the foot by using this theory because many of the audience, such a film targets, will already know it. And yet it foolishly uses this widely known idea for its mystery, whodunnit, plot!
When many of the audience, who know about The Ripper anyway, already know more than your lead detective character...all is not well.
And the fact the film has the actual Ripper as the same real life person that Knight uses...means that when the screenplay tries to set up other suspects it gets a bit tedious.

But saying that, even if you did not know this myth, a stupendously silly sound clue would give it away any way.
Best not to have the shadowed/off frame Ripper speak with the same very distinctive voice of one of your actors playing one of the suspects! You know who Jack is as soon as he speaks.

Another fault is the luducrous and pointless 'totally black eyes' the killer suddenly has during the big reveal!
What the hell is this? Reality based or a damn supernatural story!
Whose eyes, no matter how psychotic, suddenly turn into two black orbs!?

Johnny Depp himself is also a weak link thanks to his bad accent. His acting is alright and he looks great as a sexed up Inspector Abberline but when he speaks its rather comical thanks to his Cockney accent.
His English accent got much better for "The Libertine" and even "Pirates". But here it's not good.
Also not too good is the fact that despite all the excellent set design and cinematography to make an authentic Victorian London...The Hughes Brothers then go and stock it with Heather Graham's radiant, flawless face!
Poor, Victorian street whore!? Looks more like Max Factor to me.
The Mary Kelley she portrays was the most attractive of the unfortunate women...but that was definitely relative!
"A Study in Terror" did the same silly thing with its sexed up, glowing, buxom wenches too (Babs Windsor anyone!) but that was in the 1960's!

The finale 'twist' (the very end scene aside) is also very obvious, and we never really expected anything else as we had already surmised The Hughes Brothers simply were not brave enough to do anything else.

Despite all that, there are some excellent sequences involving Depp annoying the establishment figures (a nice turn by the sadly late Ian Richardson as Warren), a few moments of choice gore and nastiness (including a genuinely shocking throat slitting), a nice turn by Robbie Coltrane and indeed most of the support cast and bags of atmosphere, though as far as that goes "Murder by Decree" has it beat during the truly frightening and shocking final death reconstruction.

So a lot of time, effort and money spent on a basic plot idea that's so well used and known the movie lacks any real suspense (though Alan Moore avoided most of the film's mistakes by not making the story a mystery any way, as he reveals who 'Jack' is from the start) and when added to its own, in house, faults mean "From Hell" is simply an average slice (ha ha) of entertainment and sadly not the definitive 'Jack the Ripper' film it could have been with all that talent and support to work with.

mark f

10-25-09, 08:57 PM

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (H.C. Potter, 1948) 2.5

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Cute but far-too-predictable comedy with a single, simple premise of a Manhattan advertising man (Cary Grant) who decides to buy a Connecticut home and then remodel it. Of course, all manner of problems arise, and then he starts to get the idea that his wife (Myrna Loy) has a thing for his best friend (Melvyn Douglas) who always seems to be around whenever Mr. Blandings shows up. Add in to the mix that they're heading to the poor house by spending WAY too much money on their "dream" (nightmare?) and that Mr. Blandings is having a creative black hole on his big advertising campaign. Fans of the stars will enjoy it but it's not really among their top-notch flicks.

Naked (Mike Leigh, 1993) 3.5+

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David Thewlis gives a blistering performance as 28-year-old Mancunian Johnny who, based on what happens in the one day presented here, seems to live a dismal, brutal life which is somehow also filled with lots of sex and scintillating intellectual discussions. Right from the beginning of the film, Johnny is raping a woman in an alley and then steals a car and flees to London where he goes to the flat of ex-girlfriend Louise (Lesley Sharp), but she's at work, so Louise's flatmate Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge) lets him in to wait for her. From here, the film follows Johnny on an episodic journey which seems to turn him from one of the most-amoral wankers in sight to a visionary genius and back again. Most of the film's dialogue was apparently worked out by the actors during a long rehearsal period before shooting, and Thewlis is allowed to ruminate on the end of the world as well as be incredibly witty about it even while many of the people he talks to probably don't understand what he's going on about. I would probably think even more highly of the film if the bastard character of Jeremy (Greg Crutwell) were better-explained or perhaps cut entirely out of the film. As it is, he seems there to show viewers that there are worse men than Johnny but it's a facile comparison since Jeremy is so superficial and Johnny is so complex. Even so, this is still probably Leigh's best film and it looks really good too with expert Dick Pope cinematography capturing the look of an almost ruined urban blight which has obviously contributed to the hopelessness of many of the characters.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Rob Cohen, 1993) 3.5

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This is the complete opposite of Naked, a bright, old-fashioned Hollywood biopic, full of half-truths and downright lies, which is still amazingly-entertaining mostly due to the charisma of Jason Scott Lee playing kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. Whether he's battling the Hong Kong mafia or supernatural villains, romancing and marrying American Linda (Lauren Holly), perfecting his own special brand of martial arts or trying to recover from a paralyzing incident, Jason Scott Lee presents Bruce as someone to root for and care about. Then there are added goodies such as recreations of "The Green Hornet" show (called "The Cato Show" in Hong Kong), Bruce talking with his producer (Robert Wagner) about doing a show called "Kung Fu" on TV, the births of his children Brandon and Shannon and eventually his brief but spectacular movie career. The film flies by with plenty of incident and a surprising amount of humor which makes it easy to forgive that it's not really all that gritty a flick which would probably be a more-realistic way to present Bruce Lee's life story.

Swiss Family Robinson (Ken Annakin, 1960) 3.5

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This is another one of those Disney films which is basically a real adventure and isn't really dumbed-down at all for the kids. (True, there are a few seconds near the end where some camera trickery and reversal of the film threatens to turn it silly, but for a two-hour movie, I find it forgivable.) The classic children's book is pretty much turned into a classic adventure film, one of Disney's best along with 20000 Leagues Under the Sea. John Mills and Dorothy McGuire are excellent as the parents who get shipwrecked on a tropical island on the way to New Guinea with their three sons. The threat of pirates, led by Captain Sessue Hayakawa, is ever present, but the family is able to take the best parts of the ship and make the fanciest tree house anyone has ever made (and was present at Disneyland for about 40 years before they turned it into the Tarzan Treehouse). The sons, from eldest to youngest, are played by James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran; the two elder boys go into a major competition after they rescue a young woman (Janet Munro) from the pirates while scouting the outskirts of the island. It all culminates in an attack by the pirates on the family's stronghold which is rigged with explosives and pits with wild animals. I enjoyed this film as a kid and I still enjoy it. The beautiful beaches and jungles of Tobago substitute for the South Seas and provide a realistic location for all the action and character growth, and the film reminded Brenda and me again of how much we'd enjoy it to just get away from everything, hopefully for as long as possible.

Georgy Girl (Silvio Narizzano, 1966) 3

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Georgy Girl starts out with the hit title song by the Seekers while we follow frumpy Georgy (Lynn Redgrave) walking down the London streets in search of something to give her life over to. She's got a lot of love to give, but since she's a "big girl", nobody takes her that seriously, except for maybe her rich "godfather" (James Mason), the boss of Georgy's Dad (Bill Owen), who has amorous eyes for Georgy despite repeated rebuffs. In fact, Dad and Mum (Clare Kelly) don't understand what Georgy is doing with her life, especially when she conducts music lessons upstairs at her parent's home. Georgy shares a flat with beautiful but bored young Meredith (Charlotte Rampling) who's pregnant again by her boyfriend Jos (Alan Bates). This time, Meredith wants to have the baby, but she and Jos are drifting apart and he starts to pay more attention to Georgy. Eventually what seems like a hopeless situation turns out in the end, although it's unclear how happy things will ever be. Lynn Redgrave is excellent in her Oscar-nominated performance and provides most of the film's heart and soul although Alan Bates can certainly be charming and has one outright hilarious scene of embarrassment towards the end. The Swingin' Sixties are certainly on display here, but deep down of course, Georgy Girl is actually something of an old-fashioned flick since the heroine is basically the only person in the film who always does the right thing. It's still very watchable but it's not as fresh or funny today as say, Alfie or Morgan!.

Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, 1987) 3

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Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and Marwood ["I"] (Paul McGann) are out-of-work actors eking it out in 1969 London, but they're really at their wit's ends. They've run out of booze (well, at least "legit" booze), and there seems to be some vicious animal living in their messy sink. Besides that, it never stops raining and Withnail seems to be getting quite ill, so what better way to find some rest and free booze than to go stay at the country cottage of Withnail's obliging Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths). If only poor Marwood knew what that S.O.B. Withnail told his uncle to secure the cottage for the weekend, he would never have gone along with the idea. Withnail & I is a cult comedy which has plenty of laughs, most of them provided by Grant's obsession on how to get the next drink and the next buzz. Ralph Brown also gets some mileage as a drug dealer who seriously likes to advertise the greatness of his product, and Griffiths is quite amusing, especially when he tries to seductively corner Marwood when he makes a "surprise" visit to the cottage. However, when it gets right down to it, Paul McGann anchors the flick as the seemingly-sanest person, even getting to say, "A coward you are, Withnail. An expert on bulls you are not."

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966) 5

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Edward Albee's powerful play was adapted by Ernest Lehman into this equally-spectacular film highlighted by incredible acting from Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sandy Dennis and George Segal. In Mike Nichols' cinematic directorial debut, he takes advantage of his huge set and works with cinematographer Haskell Wexler and editor Sam O'Steen to make a perfectly-crafted, living film, not a filmed stage play. It's true that Nichols would break even more ground in the director's chair with his next film (The Graduate), but this is a special film in every way that I can imagine. The "plot" of the film basically revolves around two couples at a college campus who get together after a party thrown by the college's President, whose daughter is Martha (Taylor). Martha and George [a history professor] (Burton) are an alcoholic couple who seem to have turned their marriage into an elongated, drunken game in order to get through each day and especially each night. A new biology professor (Segal) and his wife (Dennis) show up at the couple's home at 2AM, and what proceeds is a venemous, yet side-splitting collection of dialogue, confrontations and such "games" as "Humiliate the Host", "Get the Guests" and "Hump the Hostess".

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I believe that Albee's play is the best play ever written in the English language (with the possible exception of Shakespeare :cool:), and it's obvious near the end that the playwright's inspiration was Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. ("Flores. Flores para los muertos.") So you know what I think of the script, but this film is also a textbook on how to edit scenes together with perfect timing to provide maximum psychological and emotional impact. In other words, it builds on the play by providing just the right close-ups in the right locations at the right time which a play can never show you. It's hard to believe that Elizabeth Taylor was only 33 when she made this movie based on the way she's made up to look at least 12-15 years older. She is truly awesome, especially in her quieter scenes where she evinces a vulnerability which allows for the conclusion to be so meaningful. Richard Burton is mind-blowing as the ringmaster of this horror show, and yes, it's a horror show because it ends in an exorcism. Burton deserved a Best Actor Oscar for his greatest performance ever (the four central players received noms, but only the distaff cast won). The way he can insult you by saying the funniest stuff is a mark I've tried long to stand up too. I'm just sorry that most of my dialogue isn't as sharp as his. Sandy Dennis is also wonderful playing a character who's seemingly out-of-her-depth, but towards the end, she really shines ("He can't be a floozie. You're a floozie!") George Segal is excellent but he does have a tough character to play. He's supposed to be incredibly smart and athletic, so he's full of himself to an extent, but at other times he seems like a little kid next to Burton's George, so of all the characters he probably reveals the least of himself and has probably the most awkward line in the flick ("Oh God. I think I understand this.")

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I'll admit that I've loved this film ever since I first watched it as a kid on TV, but there was always something weird about the ending to me when I was younger. I always thought I was missing something in the Third Act, but as I grew older, it made a lot more sense to me and even seems totally believable as real life and not as something metaphorical. Alex North's score which has been low-key throughout really takes on a powerful resonance when the theme is reprised at the end of the film. The joke that Martha "busted a gut" over at the party ("Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?") is also reprised at the beautiful conclusion, only this time no one is laughing and there is a hope for a long calm before any possible forthcoming storm.

42ndStreetFreak

10-25-09, 09:05 PM

I'd have to add another 1.5 to the stunning "Withnail".
And for a film so rooted in comic dialogue and set-ups...the end scene provides what is simply a magnificent piece of drama, and one that still manages to bring a lump to the throat.

mark f

10-25-09, 09:17 PM

There are several MoFos here who will agree with you, but at least I like it a lot more than Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (2), another fave here which is inexplicable to me.

I don't want to get into your earlier post about Hitchcock although if you want to turn it into a thread, I'm sure we'll get plenty of responders. However, you can check it again and I'll admit that it's an odd shot, but the scene in Frenzy is NOT a still. As I said, if you want to discuss it or the rest, go to the Director's Forum and make a thread about Hitch's technological shortcomings. It might take a while for all the MoFos to participate, but it will be worth it eventually. :cool:

jrs

10-25-09, 09:37 PM

Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli)

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A Theatre Experience I'll Never Forget

A Theatre Experience I'll Never Forget., 24 October 2009
A couple decide to document their nights while the sleep, after they hear strange noises that they believe to be a haunting.

I respect this film, for the fact that it was shot for less than 20,000, had absolutely no marketing campaign and has become a huge success based on word of mouth and the audience demanding to see it. If only other studios would follow suit and listen to people demanding to see movies they want to see, maybe there wouldn't be so much crap out there.

Paranormal Activity is shot like Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project, REC, Cannibal Holocaust, etc. If any of those films gave you motion sickness, you might want to skip this one. Half the film is shot while they sleep, so the film is on a tri-pod, the other half is them walking around with it. So if you've never been a fan of those films, skip this one. Second, the film is not as scary as people make it out to be. Instead, it is one creepy and suspenseful film, that seeing in a theatre, only heightened my enjoyment of it.

The audience I went with, all had a collective "Oh My God". I could hear it every time something creepy happened. You could literally feel everyone in the theatre holding their breath every time they went to sleep. Again, if you are the type of person who wants to watch a film and not hear a peep out of anyone else, skip this film.

Now the film itself, shot in one week, small (very small) budget and every penny of it went towards the special effects. The special effects are what sell the film, if you don't buy them, the film will not creep you out. They looked real and impressive enough to push the film into a successful goal, which is to scare people. If you are already afraid of the dark, this film will not help you. Every creek, thump, noise you hear in your house will now have you thinking twice.

Less is more, The Blair Witch Project uses this, as does Paranormal Activity. The two leads, are haunted by a demon, one we never see, only hear. Whenever you go into a horror film, as a kid you would close your eyes in fear. Big mistake, because it's the ears you need to be covering. The sound is what makes you jump, hear nothing, fear nothing. The sound design behind this film is what is scary people, accompanied by the visuals (memorable scenes with the powder and bed sheets).

As the film progresses, the haunting gets worse. I don't want to give anything away, and I urge you to not watch the trailer. I watched the trailer and was waiting for those things to happen, it took away from the general fear. Not knowing what to expect will make this film that much better, that much creepier and that much more entertaining. I didn't expect it to be as funny as it was either, the lead male had some comic relief dialogue, the ease the tension.

The couple are believable, the hand held camera angle works here and the fear will set in. I applaud Paranormal Activity, for not only becoming an unheard of success, but for being one of the creepiest films I've ever seen.

Bravo.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/../images/popcorn/4box.gif

Excellent review and I couldn't agree more. I saw the DVD screener which had the film's original ending, so I didn't see the theatrical one. I heard the one in the theaters left open what could be room for a sequel, which I hope not. Paramount even wants another one (http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b150604_paramount_wants_more_paranormal_activity.html). The way Oren Peli and the cast originally shot it, had it to where:

Micah runs downstairs to save Katie, there's a scuffle, she then returns to to her bedroom covered in blood with a knife in hand. She sits on her bedroom floor, rocking back and forth for days on end. Her girlfriend from earlier scenes leaves an answering machine message inquiring where the couple is, eventually stops by and discovers Micah dead, screams and leaves. The police rush in and find Katie, who snaps out of her trance, only to be gunned down by the cops when she freaks out on them. The credits dedicate the film to couple, sustaining the “real-life” atmosphere of the movie.

I give Paranormal Activity 4 as well.

I also saw....

Law Abiding Citizen 3_5

Even though it was predictable here and there, the story was well thought out and the acting was well done. Gerard Butler did a fine job I thought. Jamie Foxx on the other hand seemed kind of dead pan most of the time. My favorite part was though had to be when the judge got killed with her cell phone..that was priceless. :p

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meatwadsprite

10-25-09, 10:06 PM

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Kagemusha 1980

It didn't take me long to get lost in this film, with so many different characters being introduced, many who act like each other, I'm not sure what exactly happened. As for the craft itself ....

2

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Duplicity 2009

Writer and recently director Gilroy saves his most clever scripts for himself, although not nearly as fun as (the 2nd time I saw) Clayton, it has a charm of it's own. Wilkinson is awesome by the way.

3

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Bronson 2009

The film has some exceptional bits and pieces, Tom Hardy delivers a brilliantly sociopathic performance. The story itself is repetitive, it's a character exploration where at the end, you are left with the same impression that you had in the first ten minutes.

2.5

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Barton Fink 1991

I don't think it's well strung together at all, the symbolism and surreality are there for the sake of it and don't actually add up to anything. But, it's still a very fun movie about mundane living conditions, sweltering heat, and twisted, tormenting cognitions. John Turtorro's finest hour, as a matter of fact almost the entire cast are Coen regulars - and those who aren't should be.

3

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Touch of Evil 1958

Many aspects of this film are amazing, much better than the whole of itself. The most obvious being the camera work, it's a wonder to watch. I'm not the film historian, but tons of modern techniques that still wow me today - are all seen here. Welles invested a lot in his film's look, but his performance here is the meat of Touch of Evil.

My problem is the story, it comes to an abrupt cheap ending. The characters have been built and built, then nothing. The first two acts are uncontrollably rapid, the finale seems like a bad effort to tie things together that didn't need to be.

3

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A Serious Man 2009

A serious new entry into the Coens' top tier stuff. An ancient religious tale of faith told in the era of the late 60's with humorous twists, but an ultimately depressing message of God's cruelty.

The feel bad movie of the year.

4.5

42ndStreetFreak

10-25-09, 10:25 PM

For me "Kagemusha" is second only to "Ran" (With "Seven Samurai" a close third) in my Kurosawa Samurai films list.

I thought it a stunning peice of historical drama, with an epic tale of misunderstanding, ego, foolishness, greed, waylaid good intentions and utter tragedy being perfectly woven around the stunning visuals.

Certainly not a film that gets watched very often (like "Seven" and "Ran" actually) but is a wonderful experience when you do.

"The Fantastic Mr Fox"

Rather too old for my 5 year old Daughter, who I took to see it, because of the extensive dialogue driven plot as well as the dialogue based humour (rather low key humour at that) of much of the running time.
The almost other-worldly tempo of the dialogue deliver also made for a rather lethargic experience, so I say this is one for the older child. Though she still enjoyed the film, it did not have the effect that "Ice Age 3" or "Bolt" had on her.

But the occasional action was fun and well executed technically (nice to see good old fashioned stop motion) and if the character's body shape and ways of moving were damn strange at times, it fitted with the overall 'story book come to life' feel of the movie.

Different and generally entertaining, but really for older kids and fans of Roald Dahl's book.

TheUsualSuspect

10-25-09, 10:38 PM

Hey JRS - You can view all the different endings online.

Meat - Shame about Bronson, I really wanted to see it. (will still see it though)

jrs

10-25-09, 10:48 PM

Hey JRS - You can view all the different endings online.

I tried finding the theatrical ending online...I cant find it

TheUsualSuspect

10-25-09, 10:57 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjtgUvKn5dY

jrs

10-25-09, 11:31 PM

I didnt bother looking on YouTube for it. Didn't think they'd post just the ending of Paranormal Activity on it. Thanks TUS. Now that I've seen both I prefer the original version better. The one in theaters is just too cliche. Although I just found out there is a "third" ending.

Harry Lime

10-25-09, 11:36 PM

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Young Torless (1966, Volker Schlondorff) 3
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Trafic (1971, Jacques Tati) 2.5
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Tokyo Drifter (1966, Seijun Suzuki) 2
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The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964, Pier Paolo Paolini) 4
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Tabu (1931, F.W. Murnau) 2.5
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Wise Blood (1979, John Huston) 3

mark f

10-26-09, 12:16 AM

Iroquois

10-26-09, 12:33 AM

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Sexy Beast (Jonathon Glazer, 2000) – 3

A very unconventional take on the hoary "one last job" cliché, building on strong characterisation in favour of advancing the plot (two-thirds of the film is basically two guys arguing). Credit is due to all involved, although you can't really talk about this film without mentioning Ben Kingsley's scene-stealing maniac. Even though he wasn't quite as amazing as I was expecting him to be, it was still a solid performance. The main problem with this film is that the plot is so paper-thin that it manages to make this relatively short film drag a surprising amount in parts. This was especially true towards the end of the film. I admit that this is kind of the point, but even so...

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Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton, 1999) – 4

Out of all the Burton films I've seen, I'm pretty sure Sleepy Hollow is just the all-around slickest (although it does beg comparison to Sweeney Todd, which shares a very similar style). It's got just about everything that you could really ask for in a film - brilliantly executed (pun unintended) visuals, good acting and a plot that, while it does get predictable at times, is still nonetheless engaging and surprising to the end.

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A Room For Romeo Brass (Shane Meadows, 1999) – 3.5

This marks the third Shane Meadows film I've seen. It's got the same low-key style as the others, but that doesn't make it any less interesting to watch. The strength is in the performances, all of which aren't necessarily grand dramatic performances, but are so great at being down-to-earth and in some parts downright unsettling that it just works. The plot's also reasonably good (revolving around two pre-teen boys and their relationships with each other, their families and most importantly, the unpredictable odd-ball that finds his way into their lives) and it all works towards just as good a product as I'd expect from Meadows.

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Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 1977) – 3.5

Not too sure if I should bump this up to 4 or not (I've given up on adding in plus or minus signs to ratings) seeing as I was both a) watching this on free-to-air TV at 12:30 on a Saturday night and b) distracted by working on an assignment so I wasn't really giving the film my full attention the whole time. It's a competently made war film, with Peckinpah employing a lot of his favourite stylistic manoeuvres in his telling of the story of a WWII-era conflict between Germany and Russia. It probably is worth a 4 but I don't think I'm capable of judging it fairly on a viewing full of distractions, but it's definitely good enough to warrant a second viewing.

MovieMan8877445

10-26-09, 12:39 AM

I'm not going to go into full detail of everything I've watched all the past couple of weeks, but I'll go into it some.

Firstly, I had a Saw marathon just this past week. I wanted to see the sixth, so I decided to watch the entire series before going to watch it. Actually none of them are really that bad at all, except the third. I never even realized how ****** it actually was. Like seriously, it might be one of the worst films ever made, even with the ending which was still a pretty good twist. The first two are still my favorite, with the fourth, sixth, and fifth coming in after that.

Saw - 3+
(James Won, 2004)

Saw II - 3.5
(Darren Lynn Bousman, 2005)

Saw III - 1
(Darren Lynn Bousman, 2006)

Saw IV - 3+
(Darren Lynn Bousman, 2007)

Saw V - 2.5+
(David Hackl, 2008)

Saw VI - 3
(Kevin Greutert, 2009)

http://www.templeofthedemon.com/images/saw_ii_ocxy.jpg

I watched some more George A. Romero flicks over the past two weeks, too. I watched The Crazies after how good the remake looks to be, and I'm glad I did. It was a really great apocyalptic kind of movie, and I can't wait to see the remake when it comes out next year. I watched more of his dead series, too. I re-watched Night of the Living Dead for the first time, and I liked it a lot more this time around, but I still don't find it as great as everyone else. It's my least favorite Romero flick to date. I watched the original Dawn of the Dead today, too, and I freaking loved it so damned much. I actually like more than the remake, which I totally love. It's going to be going somewhere high among my favorites list. Also, just for the hell of it I re-watched the remake of Dawn of the Dead for the bazillionth time after. I still love it as much as ever. I loved how they gave Ken Foree a brief cameo in the remake.

The Crazies - 3.5+
(George A. Romero, 1973)

Night of the Living Dead - 3.5
(George A. Romero, 1968)

Dawn of the Dead - 4.5
(George A. Romero, 1978)

Dawn of the Dead - 4+
(Zack Snyder, 2004)

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Just some other horror films I've watched over the past week becasue it's Ocotober. I re-watched The Shining for like the third time, and I'm really beginning to believe that you like it better the more you understand it. You understand it the more you watch it, too, so I'll probably love it after a few more times. It still is a bit slow. I watched Hellraiser earlier today as well, and it was good. I still didn't think too much of it, because it just wasn't my kind of film. It wasn't bad or anything, but just not my cup of tea. I still might check out some of the sequels and see if they get any better.

The Shining - 3.5+
(Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

Hellraiser - 3
(Clive Barker, 1987)

http://media.ifccenter.com/images/films/the-shining_592x299.jpg

I watched some new releases lately, too. I re-watched Observe and Report because I loved it so much the first time I watched it, but I swear it was a totally different film. Maybe it's only great the first time, but it's really bad the second time around. It still has that 'cool' feeling to it and an awesome soundtrack, but it's just not good in the slightest. I saw Monsters Vs. Aliens for the first time the other night, too, and it wasn't bad. It wasn't that good, but not bad. It was funny, but I had expected something better from DreamWorks after Kung Fu Panda. I re-watched Drag Me to Hell the other week after buying it, and it's still totally great. Not quite as when I first saw it, but still really great. And last night I re-watched Transformers: RotF and it really made me notice how big of an effect IMAX can have on a movie. It was still a good action movie, but I liked it a whole hell of a lot more in theaters.

Observe and Report - 2.5
(Jody Hill, 2009)

Monsters Vs. Aliens - 3
(Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon, 2009)

Drag Me to Hell - 3.5+
(Sam Raimi, 2009)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 3
(Michael Bay, 2009)

http://witneyman.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/drag-me-to-hell-2.jpg

mark f

10-26-09, 12:43 AM

Re: Iroquois -

I prefer your 3.5 rating since I cannot give Cross of Iron more than 2.5, but I'm often considered a heathen when it comes to Peckinpah, even though I certainly love the films of his which I love. :cool: Nice rating for Sleepy Hollow though.

Re: MovieMan -

I tend to believe that Romero is extremely overrated, at least in his seminal films. I actually prefer his later films which most people believe are shite.

Iroquois

10-26-09, 12:56 AM

You contrary old coot, you.

mark f

10-26-09, 01:00 AM

That's pretty good. Just call me a coc from now on. :D

Iroquois

10-26-09, 01:02 AM

No thanks, I could get banned for that.

mark f

10-26-09, 01:06 AM

Well, you already "did it" without any ostracization. HA!

Iroquois

10-26-09, 01:07 AM

Strike one.

jrs

10-26-09, 01:21 AM

That's pretty good. Just call me a coc from now on. :D

No thanks, I could get banned for that.

Why would you get banned for calling a person a coc? It's just an acronym for about 95 things (http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/COC). :p

Iroquois

10-26-09, 01:23 AM

Because it sounds like I'm calling him "cock" - and let me tell you, that ain't an anagram.

jrs

10-26-09, 01:26 AM

Because it sounds like I'm calling him "cock".....

Yeah..and you're point? lots of words sound like foul words. Duck, sit, stunt, pitch ...

mark f

10-26-09, 01:28 AM

Look, I am Cock o' the Walk if you haven't realized, but coc is certainly a benign enough term.

http://www.agilitynut.com/06/3/cock.jpg

Strike Two....

P.S. In Jaws, Quint called Hooper "SuperCock", a nice little PG phrase in a mellow little PG flick.

Iroquois

10-26-09, 01:30 AM

To hell with this, I'll come back when the topic reverts back to movies.

TheUsualSuspect

10-26-09, 01:33 AM

If I were to rate the saw films...

SAW 4.5
SAW II 3
SAW III 3
SAW IV 2.5
SAW V 2
SAW VI 3

I use to rate SAW II a lot lower, but it has grown on me. Or the other films have gotten worse that I just bumped it up a grade.

mark f

10-26-09, 01:43 AM

Iroquois

10-26-09, 01:45 AM

I haven't seen a single Saw movie, either.

TheUsualSuspect

10-26-09, 01:53 AM

The Tournament

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/layden/TheTournamentmovieposter.jpg

Every seven years there is a tournament held, where dozens of assassins must compete. The winner gets not only the title of greatest assassin alive, but an additional $10,000,000. Why does no one know about it? They have every angle covered, clean up crews are dispatched to the latest violent scene and terrorist explanations are given to the public, among other stories. Let the carnage begin.

Basic plot that only exists to let the body piles up and the action begin. The film reminded me a lot of Mean Guns, the Ice T and Christopher Lambert spectacle. If you are looking for something a little more with the times and more popular, think Rat Race meets Smokin Aces. Some guy has set up a tournament, people bet on their favourite to win, the odds change based on who kills who and who is left. The spin here is that one of the contestants takes out their tracking implant, they are all given one, and it somehow ends up in the body of a priest. The other assassins think he is part of the game and it's up to a conscience driven assassin, played by Kelly Hu, to keep him alive.

Now there is a top skilled parkour style assassin running around with no chip. After how many tournaments, no one has thought of this? They act as if this is a surprise. Either every assassin is dumb and keep their implants in, or they seem to honour some kind of code in which they will follow the rules. This guy doesn't, this is the same guy from the chaotic opening chase in Casino Royale. He gives everyone a run for their money.

Ving Rhames is also here, as the previous winner. He is pulled back into the game for revenge, as one of the other assassins killed his wife. Ian Somerhalder plays the wild one, there always has to be one, who likes to keep the index finger of his victims. He is over the top and is suppose to be one mean son of a gun because he kills a dog. The other assassins are pretty much nameless (one is played by the marital artist Scott Adkins) and most of them are taken out by a montage with serene music playing over the blood and guts. Speaking of blood and guts, this film is pretty gory and violent. Somerhalders last scene is one for the books.

Rhames gives his best with the lackluster material, he is the only one with much of a story. the direction is decent enough, nothing is ever confusing and I always knew what was happening on the screen. This is Scott Mann's big feature debut, his other films are short and not well known. I think we'll see more of him in the future. Give him some big name stars, a script with some meat to it and he will deliver something good. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

The Tournament is very thin on plot and story, all for the sake of the action. Complaints? There could be, but going in I knew what I was in for. so I enjoyed it more. It's the vein of Shoot Em Up, violent for the sake of being violent. I suspect this will find it's audience on DVD, since there was no theatrical run, at least not one I heard of. The action junkies will sit back, relax and have a good time. After all, isn't the premise of 30 assassins in a tournament to kill each other cool enough to give it a look?

3

Notice the poster says ten years? I guess they couldn't come up with a decent number till the end.

Harry Lime

10-26-09, 01:58 AM

Wise Blood is easily the best film in that tab in my opinion. I also don't think Tokyo Drifter is all that but it's gotta be better than Traffic, The Gospel According to St. Matthew and Tabu, none of which I give more than 2. Why do you think that religion is better represented in the Pasolini flick than the Huston one (and Elmer Gantry for that matter)? Have you seen Jesus of Montreal?

Tokyo Drifter annoyed me, I was even being a little generous with that rating.

The Gospel... is not a representation of religion but a representation of a gospel from the bible, by an aetheist, with a neo-realist approach, and an excellent one at that. Elmer Gantry and Wise Blood are what has happened to religion in certain circumstances, like the only part the media tends to show. So begone any notions of looking for the more accurate representation of religion involving these three films. In the end though neither film truly impressed me. Sure they had their moments, and some good acting, but neither left me thinking I'd just seen something special, just something good. I was tempted to go half a star higher with Wise Blood, but didn't.

Now as I really don't like writing about films I'll leave it as is before I waste too much time on something I don't like to do, I have work for that and at least I get paid for it.

And no, I haven't seen Jesus of Montreal yet.

adidasss

10-26-09, 04:52 AM

You don't like writing about films yet you're on a film forum...fascinating. :|

Golgot

10-26-09, 08:39 AM

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/5079/626334.jpg

The Eye (2002)

A great premise that feels like it gets a bit wasted. The opening sections involving myopic mysteries happening just beyond the ken of our newly eye-implanted heroine build nicely, and then there's some lovely asian-esotericism (i particularly liked the blue-tongued licking of hanging meat, while the non-ghostly sat absorbed or facing away, highlighting our heroine's estrangement).

Things seemed to lose their way though. It's not just that some rather sappy sentiments are worked in to what's ostensibly a horror, but the path to resolution also seemed to dissipate the fear felt for the victim. The ending then employed a budget-busting effects-fest which, although fine in theory, was laden with enough silly aspects to be a waste momentum, for my money (what was with the 'Fight Club' rat escape for example?)

3-

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/3967/coolerbellobaldwinmacy.jpg

The Cooler

Just awful made-for-TV fare, packaged nicely. Sports a nigh-nonsensical plot, which ambles backwards and forwards, with intrusive sax-solos trying to tell you what to feel. It gets some bonus points for Baldwin's turn as an archaic casino boss, but that's about it.

1_5

Malky

10-26-09, 09:36 AM

Triangle- Honestly as of now I can not rate it. When I watched it I enjoyed it, the film is a mind**** but the more I think about it I hate it because it makes no sense, none at all. Maybe someone can pm me and explain but as far as I can see it makes no sense whatsoever. Melissa George is the main character and way back when I had a massive crush on her so it was good to see her again but the film is rubbish.

The Goods Live Hard Sell Hard 2 Kinda funny comedy but really offers nothing new. If its on watch it, as it will pass the time and raise a few chuckles but I would not go out my way to see it.

Sedai

10-26-09, 10:55 AM

Paranormal Activity (Peli, 2007)

3_5

http://ramascreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/paranormal-activity.jpg

I avoided reading/watching anything about the film before seeing it. Definitely had some effective stuff going on, interspersed with some not-so-effective stuff. I enjoyed the male lead's wry wit quite a bit, too, as his approach to the issue was about how I would tackle the issue. The director did a good job on some of the scenes, I must say. Still, this is not the second coming of horror, as some folks are claiming.

Also watched Sleepy Hollow, Halloween and The Amityville Horror

Caitlyn

10-26-09, 12:57 PM

I'm going to throw away all my cred around here (as if I had any) and say that I've never watched a Saw movie. It certainly has nothing to do with fear though. If I ever do, it'll probably be the first one, but it's not exactly crying out to me right now... even with this sample dialogue: "I don't give a crap if you covered yourself in peanut butter and had a 15 hooker gang bang!"

I haven't seen a single Saw movie, either.

I haven't seen any of the Saw movies either and doubt I ever will... and it definitely has nothing to do with fear...

Anyway, I did see:

The Frighteners (1996) - for the first time in ages. I had forgotten how much fun this movie is... 4

Beetlejuice (1988) - this one has turned into a Halloween tradition with me... it's just silly fun... 4

The Shining (1980) - never seems to lose the ability to give me a few chills... Jack doesn't even need any make-up does he... 5

Wolf (1994) - I've always thought this one was a little underrated... Jack, as usual, is brilliant and takes the werewolf story to a very different level... 4

Used Future

10-26-09, 01:21 PM

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eRp4AmA7k-Y/ReLbSYnKEpI/AAAAAAAAAEo/b6_Dcg2tKz8/s400/cartel_bestia.jpg
Eldia de la Bestia
4
Very funny, stylish take on the 'coming of the anti-Christ-end of the world' genre. Loved it.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qPon2S4vHls/SP91RnT-VYI/AAAAAAAACRE/FxRCYOfeFWY/s400/earth_dies_screaming.jpg
The Earth Dies Screaming
3
Above average apocalyptic drama in the vein of Village of the Damned and Day of the Triffids. Cool.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z8deOoqrZt4/SKb_YwcDV9I/AAAAAAAAAH0/Zo2cPWjkHY8/s320/phase_iv_poster.jpg
Phase IV
3.5-
A bit slow, but very intelligent and rewarding Sci-fi.

Yoda

10-26-09, 01:36 PM

Caught a fair number of flicks lately, including Zombieland, which I may still try to review in the next couple of days, so I'll hold off on the rating there. I could've sworn I'd mentioned films like Frost/Nixon (3) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (2.5), but apparently I did not. A bit removed from viewing them now, so I'll just move onto some of the later ones...

The Thin Man Goes Home and Song of the Thin Man
3 for both

http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200/drt600/t646/t64692vc4iy.jpg http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/song-of-the-thin-man-1947_poster-217x300.jpg

Can't remember if I listed the last few Thin Man films in here, but if not, well, I've watched all six of 'em now. These last two were fairly good, but definitely a bit of a step down, particularly as far as the central mysteries go (though that's certainly not why I watch them). Thinking of rewatching the first three or so again. Still, I adore the characters (Friend of Ziggy Dean Stockwell as their son in the last one!) and will certainly be taking Mark's advice to catch the other Powell/Loy flicks, even though they're not part of the series.

Favorite line from all six films (that I can recall, at least); Nick and Nora sit down at a table.

Nick: I'll have a bourbon.
*Nick sees Nora sit next to him*
Nick: Make it two.
Nora: The same.

Beautiful.

Blood Simple
4

http://thisdistractedglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Blood%20Simple%20pic%203.jpg

No, I'm not putting the period at the end of the title! Stylistic flourishes be damned.

Finally got around to seeing this, which is a travesty, given how much I love the Coens. Great stuff, with a few brilliant sequences. Found the dialogue a little lacking compared to their more modern stuff, which is more or less the only thing keeping it from getting an even higher rating. Lots of stylistic similarities to No Country for Old Men here; in retrospect, it's easy to see why they were attracted to the idea of adapting it. Both are mostly devoid of the Coens' habit of injecting sporadic humor inbetween horrific events.

Courtney and I had fun speculating about the ways the characters' actions and paths would cross, but it ended up being a little less intriguing than we'd expected. And as good as the movie is, it still falls victim to that infuriating cinematic convention where characters talk past each other and never bother to clarify things, when almost any real person would have.

Grey's Anatomy
3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/GraysAnatomy.jpg

For those who don't know, this film basically consists almost entirely of famous (and now late) storyteller Spalding Gray giving a monologue about a probably-mostly-fictionalized eye problem. Kind of like My Dinner with Andre, but without dinner, or Wallace Shawn.

Saw this when I was quite young, actually (how weird is that?), and wanted to refresh my memory. Not quite as good as I remember, and the whole thing just sort of ends, but given the premise it's certainly more entertaining than it has any right to be. A few very funny lines, of course, though given that its simplicity is sort of its hook, I thought Soderburgh over-directed a tad.

Anyway, I'll be renting Swimming in Cambodia pretty soon, as it seems to be, by consensus, the best example of what Gray does.

Dumb and Dumber
4.5

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/dumb-and-dumber-orange-and-blue-tuxedos1.jpg

Lady friend hadn't seen this, so I had no choice but to make her watch it, even while apologizing for the ex-lax scene.

I'm still a sucker for a certain brand of low-brow comedy, and the Farrelly brothers are often right in the wheelhouse of what tickles me. Still one of the most quotable comedies of the last twenty years for me and the goofy gentlemen I often associate with.

Sling Blade
4.5

Another one of those movies I've seen, but was young enough not to fully appreciate or comprehend, and which I had only a scattered memory of. Saw down and watched it proper recently, and, well, there's nothing new to say: it's really freakin' good.

I'm still stunned that Thornton's Karl Childers didn't devolve into caricature. It threatens to non-stop for the first 15 minutes, but after that I was completely sold, and he just melted right into him. I looked right into his face again and a gain, and I just couldn't see the actor.

It's really easy to look stupid on-screen, so the performance is pretty gutsy, insofar as acting can be. In a town where talent isn't always rewarded as much as circumstance, it's really lovely to see someone who broke into the business largely in one fell swoop by writing, directing, and starring in a great film. Thornton deserves an awful lot of credit for basically constructing his own career with such an impressive effort.

The Invention of Lying
2.5

Great premise (a world where nobody ever lies, until one man thinks to), but it's got lots of problems. I'm resigned to the fact that even great comedies are often going to have some token love story/conflict that exists only as framework to hang the gags on, but The Invention of Lying spends way, way too much time on its, and it's not terribly believable.

It has some weird, meandering point to make about religion...sort of. It doesn't really follow through or taking any meaningful stance about anything.

That said, the 15 minutes are hysterical, as we slowly become situated to the characters always saying whatever's on their mind. It keeps ambushing us, from slightly twisted pleasantries to waiters are restaurants blurting things out. And there are a couple truly hysterical sequences later on, but there's just too much in-between, and even the order of some of the scenes feels wrong. Moreover, though the premise is that everybody tells the truth, the story morphs into something weird about making decisions with your head, rather than your heart. It's not really connected to the central premise, but just sort of drifts to it.

mark f

10-26-09, 02:09 PM

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eRp4AmA7k-Y/ReLbSYnKEpI/AAAAAAAAAEo/b6_Dcg2tKz8/s400/cartel_bestia.jpg
4
Very funny, stylish take on the 'coming of the anti-Christ-end of the world' genre. Loved it.

http://www.wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/3918__x400_earth_dies_screaming_poster_01.jpg
3
Above average apocalyptic drama in the vein of Village of the Damned and Day of the Triffids. Cool.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z8deOoqrZt4/SKb_YwcDV9I/AAAAAAAAAH0/Zo2cPWjkHY8/s320/phase_iv_poster.jpg
3.5-
A bit slow, but very intelligent and rewarding Sci-fi.

What's the second film? I can't see a picture or title.

42ndStreetFreak

10-26-09, 02:20 PM

What's the second film? I can't see a picture or title.

"Phase IV".

mark f

10-26-09, 02:27 PM

Phase IV is the third film. :)

42ndStreetFreak

10-26-09, 02:39 PM

Phase IV is the third film. :)

Oh yeah! I see now. I thought that was a strange thing to say. :p

I know!! Let's guess!

ER....er......hmmm.....blimey. Er....

"Children of Ravansback" (1980)?

Hammer's "The Damned"?

"The Children" (2009)?

mark f

10-26-09, 02:49 PM

It's actually The Earth Dies Screaming.

Used Future

10-26-09, 02:50 PM

The Mystery is over; I've edited the original post.

42ndStreetFreak

10-26-09, 03:04 PM

It's actually The Earth Dies Screaming.

Piss on my chips!!

I had that in my head as well, but could not remember the title of it.
Is it the B/W Brit film with robots?

Sedai

10-26-09, 03:35 PM

I just watched the trailer for Paranormal Activity. Glad I didn't see it before I went to see the film. They put a lot of the best bits in the trailer... I really had NO clue what the flick contained (aside from the obvious premise of paranormal activity of some sort).

Harry Lime

10-26-09, 11:04 PM

Piss on my chips!!

I take it this is a common phrase among you Brits.

honeykid

10-27-09, 12:06 AM

You are correct, Harry. Also, piss on my bonfire.

TheUsualSuspect

10-27-09, 02:22 AM

Thir13en Ghosts 1.5

Aside from great make-up for the ghosts, this film is a horrible mess. Annoying characters, lame story and uninteresting plot that doesn't hold the viewer. One unique death scene, doesn't stand out enough to warrant a watch. Skip this one.

Blade Trinity 2

The third in this series is the weakest and it's a shame because I'm a fan of the first two. Blade takes a backseat to other characters we don't care about, or want to care about. Adding Dracula to the mix was the next logical step, but the way they went about it was all wrong. Purcell as Dracula (Or Drake in the film) was the first miscast, followed by everyone else. Killing off Whistler makes the re-connection with him in the second less real and it takes away any emotion. The whole thing felt like a product placement film for Apple.

Sedai

10-27-09, 01:13 PM

The Ring (Verbinski, 2002)

4

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/the-ring-watching-the-video.jpg

I still really like this film. I like Watts, and the mystery is pretty compelling. Yes, the flick has some issues, but I am able to overlook them, I guess.

Frailty (Paxton, 2001)

3_5

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/frailty-paxton-ax.jpg

I think Paxton did a good jub on this one. It's moody and crisply directed. I like the transitions, as well.

42ndStreetFreak

10-27-09, 02:33 PM

"Blade Trinity" should be ****ing burnt! Utter dross.

"The Ring" is worthy of some kind of hallowed status just for THAT scene. Even an old, moaning, seen it all, horror movie vet like me was freaked by that TV scene the first time I saw it, knowing nothing about it.
Rest of the film is..ho hum, pretty average fare. But that sequence was gold.

Caitlyn

10-27-09, 02:36 PM

The Ring (Verbinski, 2002)

4

I still really like this film. I like Watts, and the mystery is pretty compelling. Yes, the flick has some issues, but I am able to overlook them, I guess.

Frailty (Paxton, 2001)

3_5

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/frailty-paxton-ax.jpg

I think Paxton did a good jub on this one. It's moody and crisply directed. I like the transitions, as well.

Very cool scene from The Ring... I really need to see that movie...

I was thinking about watching Frailty earlier... and I agree about Paxton... he did a great job with it. I actually wasn't too sure if what I thought was going on was what was going on... which, considering I normally figure movies out pretty quick, was totally cool... and why it's in my top 100...

42ndStreetFreak

10-27-09, 02:43 PM

Very cool scene from The Ring... I really need to see that movie...

Ahhhh......You mean you know that scene already? And indeed have now seen it in here! :(
Sadly you will lose much of the impact of it then. I watched the film with no prior knowledge about the scene and it was a great experience.
Shame. :(

Caitlyn

10-27-09, 02:53 PM

Ahhhh......You mean you know that scene already? And indeed have now seen it in here! :(
Sadly you will lose much of the impact of it then. I watched the film with no prior knowledge about the scene and it was a great experience.
Shame. :(

I've seen the scene before... so it's no biggy... :) ... and I've watched some of the movie... just haven't had time (and been in the right mood) to watch it from beginning to end...

Yoda

10-27-09, 02:53 PM

Caitlyn

10-27-09, 03:03 PM

Yeah, I must concur, it'll lose some impact now. Then again, I'm probably just trying to trick Sedai into erasing its mere existence from the site. Gah!

This may sound silly, since I'm not much of a horror guy, but that scene was the most scared I've ever been watching a movie; definitely in the theater, probably ever. I'm not exaggerating: the scariest. I thought about it before I went to bed every night for a solid two weeks afterwards. Don't ask me why, it just got to me.

I used to go to a theater back in my teens that had a horror movie marathon around Halloween ... one of the movies was about this woman and her son who owned a human hair wig shop... and there was a scene it pertaining to how they got the hair (I'm sure you can figure out how without me going into detail) that haunted me for months... I can't even remember the name of the movie or who was in it... but it still creeps me out to think about it...

Holden Pike

10-27-09, 03:03 PM

This may sound silly, since I'm not much of a horror guy, but that scene was the most scared I've ever been watching a movie; definitely in the theater, probably ever. I'm not exaggerating: the scariest. I thought about it before I went to bed every night for a solid two weeks afterwards. Don't ask me why, it just got to me.

It's clear why: you're a big baby fraidy cat wuss.

Yoda

10-27-09, 03:05 PM

Nah-uh! You are!

Sedai

10-27-09, 03:06 PM

I hadn't thought about spoiling it... I changed the image.

The avatar is staying, though! ;)

And for those disturbed by The Ring, here is a pretty picture from:

The Happy Little Elves in Tinkley Winkley Land

http://btsh.org/bruise/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/elves.jpg

Yoda

10-27-09, 03:12 PM

I think that's scarier, actually.

42ndStreetFreak

10-27-09, 03:29 PM

I used to go to a theater back in my teens that had a horror movie marathon around Halloween ... one of the movies was about this woman and her son who owned a human hair wig shop... and there was a scene it pertaining to how they got the hair (I'm sure you can figure out how without me going into detail) that haunted me for months... I can't even remember the name of the movie or who was in it... but it still creeps me out to think about it...

Hoo Hoo.
Isn't that H.G. Lewis' "The Gruesome Twosome"?
Starts with an awful padding scene of two wigs having a chat!

Caitlyn

10-27-09, 04:03 PM

Hoo Hoo.
Isn't that H.G. Lewis' "The Gruesome Twosome"?
Starts with an awful padding scene of two wigs having a chat!

That sounds like it... I'm not gonna watch it again to make sure though... :p

42ndStreetFreak

10-27-09, 04:07 PM

That sounds like it... I'm not gonna watch it again to make sure though... :p

Can't blame you for that! It is a bit of a stinker. :p

Thursday Next

10-27-09, 07:09 PM

Just watched Persepolis, the animated film based on Marjane's graphic novel based on her experiences growing up and living in Iran. I liked the style of the animation, it was largely in black and white, with good use made of shadows. I certainly learnt a lot about Iranian history (which I admit I was pretty hazy on up until now). It was chilling, some of it, it really was. And yet there were some lighter moments, such as Marjane buying an Iron Maiden casette on the black market. As it was a life story, it left something to be desired in terms of an entertaining story, it didn't feel as though it really went anywhere, wasn't quite complete. But then life, unlike fiction, is like that. I would recommend it.

42ndStreetFreak

10-27-09, 08:37 PM

"Pathology" 3.5

Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylorhe, the writer/director's of the "Crank" movies push the boundaries again, only with not a trace of humour (black or otherwise) or comic strip craziness to be found.

Here they are only the writers, so perhaps the utter darkness seen here is down to the director Marc Schölermann.

A group of pathology students create a game where each commits a murder and the others have to autopsy the body to work out how the death was carried out.
True the story has a few possible plausibility issues but as a wallow in nastiness, nihilism and body fluids it's a well crafted slice of modern horror.

The fact it does not have any real energy or kinetic set-pieces means there is not any real excitement here and when added to the utter darkness, grit and grim content you can see why this basically vanished onto DVD.
A fun night at the flicks this is not.

The FX are fantastically well done and the film clinically embraces the human corpse as a biological jigsaw, filled with foul stenches and stinking liquids.
And the attitude of the truly warped lead characters here (which means the film basically has no nice or sympathetic characters for most of its running time..another audience pleasing problem) is grotesque as far as any kind of sanctity or respect for human remains goes.

Brief flashes of violence and gore, or explicit sex romps on autopsy tables with the corpses lying a few feet away, are not the real uncomfortable aspects of the film...it's this attitude of someone's loved one being a macabre game where every part of them is a bloody playing piece.

There is no light here at all. It's a relentlessly grim wade through madness, callousness and pitch darkness.
That such a bleak and nihilistic, dour film got a few million dollars thrown at it (FX are top notch, the film looks glossy and chic and all is well crafted with solid, professional actors) is a miracle and shows that despite what many think there is a real upturn in extreme horror film making at the moment that's very welcome.

Well worth checking out if you are in the mood to wallow in the grimness of it all, just don't expect to be conventionally entertained or look forward to any fast paced thrills.

mark f

10-28-09, 03:21 AM

For some reason, my computer keeps closing my window and I keep losing my post, and this has never happened before. If it does again, I'll have to quit trying to post another Tab. I have to stay up late anyway because I'm waiting for a call from Sarah when she returns to her USC room at school from a concert, but I refuse to keep typing long, personal reviews which I'm unable to retrieve from my history. So I'm going to try an experiment; every two films I type up, I'll post and then I'll try to combine them all up until I'm done. I hope that works because even I get bored typing the same thing three times in an hour.

21 (Robert Luketic, 2008) 2.5

http://www.pjlighthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/21-movie-trailer-gambling-mit.jpg

This is an OK flick for teenagers who don't know much about gambling or gambling films. It's based on a true story and the lead strongly resembles a younger Ashton Kutcher, but the strong points are actually the inclusion in the cast of Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne. The great gambling films include The Sting, The Hustler, The Cincinnati Kid, A Big Hand For the Little Lady and The Gambler. This is about par with Rounders if you like that one.

Woman of the Year (George Stevens, 1942) 3-

http://www.fundaciondoctordepando.com/CINE-TRAILERS/0-CARATULAS_VIDEOCLIPS/Woman%20of%20the%20Year%20%281942%29%201.jpg

The last time I tried to discuss this flick, I was double-teamed by Loner and Yoda who both seemed to imply that the film was sexist and that it was a fait accompli that America's second most-important woman (Kate Hepburn) would completely give up her much too complicated career to become Spencer Tracy's "slave" and housewife by cooking waffles and toast at the same time. The reality of the film is this: After Tracy separates from his wife because he cannot live in her apartment where she's on call 24 hours a day and he's a second-class citizen, Kate attends the marriage of her father to the aunt who basically raised her as her own. During the ceremony, Kate breaks down emotionally listening to the words in the marriage and she comes to a realization that she may now understand why her husband left her. She goes to his apartment, tries to make him (disastrously) his fave breakfast and proclaims that she will give up her career to become his housewife/slave. Spencer Tracy explains to her that she needs to stop going from one extreme to another. He doesn't want her to be "Miss Tess Harding" (all career, no family) any more than he wants her to be Mrs. Sam Craig (all family, no career); instead he thinks she should be Tess Harding Craig, which seems blatantly obvious to me that he wants her to have both a career and a family. Go ahead and watch the ending again if you don't believe me.

The Americanization of Emily (Arthur Hiller, 1964) 3.5

http://www.flyingbeartheatre.org/may2006/images/taoe.jpg

Paddy Chayefsky's terrific anti-war script is played out by a great cast, including James Garner as the premier aide-de-camp/procurer (nicknamed "dog robber" in the flick) of an American Admiral (Melvyn Douglas) who "just goes a little funny in the head" at about the same time that D-Day is about to be launched. Garner has just fallen in love with English "prig" Julie Andrews when he finds out the Admiral wants the first American to die on Omaha Beach to be a sailor and Charlie's superior (James Coburn) decides that Charlie has to be there to authenticate the happening. The film is a wonderful satire of war and sex, as well as a romantic comedy, but its main flaw is that it has just so much to say about these subjects that it should be quiet for a few minutes. Even so, the "Tomb of the Unknown Sailor" is actually damned hilarious the more I think of it.

"It's Alive!" (Larry Buchanan, 1969) 0

http://www.dvdverdict.com/images/covers/itsaliveyear2889.jpghttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51P81GHJ8VL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

That rating is correct, and I believe that Buchanan probably deserves the Mantle of Worst Director of All-Time because I've probably seen at least four of his movies which I give the same rating. This is an alleged TV movie, but all that means is that it was a theatrical feature which ended up on TV because they were so cheap that that was the easiest way to make any money off of them. This film is par for the Buchanan course: it's utterly-ridiculous, horribly-acted, incompetently-directed, incredibly-cheap and I've already used far more words than the thing deserves. The only thing of any value in this film is that it does give one a brief look inside Onyx Cave, Arkansas, but since my intelligent father-in-law is from Arkansas, I'll be the first to say that it taints that state big-time. I don't know why I bother, but this film is so stupid that the bad guy throws the good guys into a cave where "It's Alive!". Meanwhile, his housekeeper moseys on in and provides them with food (with no bars between them) and then she walks away, and the prisoners can't seem to figure out to just follow her out the cave!!

Phone Call from a Stranger (Jean Negulesco, 1952) 3

http://images.blockbuster.com/is/amg/dvd/cov150/dru500/u552/u55262n1vf0.jpg

This is a surprisingly-mature film where a lawyer (Gary Merrill) leaves his family when he learns that his wife had an affair. He just takes off on the first plane he can, and on-board he meets and befriends three other people who seem to be suffering from similar domestic problems, a singer-actress (Shelley Winters), a formerly-drunken doctor (Michael Rennie) and a buffoonish traveling salesman (Keenan Wynn). When a tragedy strikes, the lawyer goes out of his way to try to repair any damage he feels for the three people and their families, and while doing so, he learns something about his own family situation. Sure, the film is a bit dated in its details but it's amazing how much people's emotions never change, so in that regard, the film hits home very truthfully even if it's mostly-superficial. However, old-school superficial seems more mature than modern superficial. Sorry.

Whatever Works (Woody Allen, 2009) 3

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_B05JwwXzC9M/Ss6fCyQ93gI/AAAAAAAAGe8/iaRI5dZ3GTY/s400/whatever_works_ver2.jpg

I was giggling and semi-guffawing during much of this film. First of all, I don't know Larry David from Adam, but he did maybe the second or third best impression of Woody Allen in a Woody Allen movie (after Kenneth Branagh and maybe John Cusack). Besides that, I'm starting to thing that Evan Rachel Wood is the best actress of her generation, and even if her generation is a bit nebulous, she's wonderful in this flick. Most of the other actors are quite good too but I can understand that some viewers might feel that Woody is trying to push just every PC button there is in what turns out to be a case of overkill. Anyway, I, for one, am glad that the Woodman could return to NYC and make a pretty entertaining flick, even though the critics still seem to hate him. Am I just so out of touch or are most critics on auto-pilot?

Youth of the Beast (Seijun Suzuki, 1963) 3

http://filmatical.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/youth_of_the_beast_poster.jpg

To me, Suzuki is one of the great camp directors in Japanese history. When I call him a camp director, I don't mean that he makes silly monster movies with guys jumping around in monster suits. I mean that he carved out his own niche in police/gangster flicks and then went out of his way to make his films far-out, crazy and unlike those of his contemporaries. Suzuki films tend to be known for how far they can push the envelope, but in a weird or funny way as opposed to anything highly-dramatic or classic. Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill border on camp classics, and Youth of the Beast doesn't seem that far off to me, although I'll be the first to admit that it's better in just about any way a film can be better than another. Even so, where else will you see such things as the personalized mini-flame thrower, the upside-down swinging shooting contest and the scene where you call a razor-slicing dude the "Son of a Whore" when the last time he heard those words he carved up a face into what looked like Venetian Blinds? I've added several more Suzuki films to my queue since my brother loves him, and I'll report back after we watch those available on DVD.

City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) 2.5

http://www.vintagefilmbuff.com/v/vspfiles/photos/SC103-2T.jpg

This Murnau film is neither a classic nor a bomb, but it does have many things which make it clear that it's the work of Murnau. First of all, the sets in the city are quite spectacular, especially the cafe where Mary Duncan works and the Chicago Grain Exchange. Second, the film is supposed to have inspired Days of Heaven, and although I saw it in a few superficial ways, it's mostly quite original although it wouldn't surprise me if Malick had access to the film, but if he did, I'd say he was a lucky bastard. The closest comparison is probably the fact that there's a night-time hail storm on the wheat farm which corresponds to the night-time locust attack, but it's still not all that similar if you ask me. As far as City Girl itself, it's a stronger than normal silent flick, but nowhere near the heights of Sunrise or 7th Heaven. The DVD does contain a fascinating description and discussion of Murnau's The Four Devils which was released as both a silent and a talkie but which now no longer exists in any form. It looks incredible with mind-boggling direction instructions, but since it's no longer viewable, I wish some silly person would check out their vaults and produce it ASAP.

Loner

10-28-09, 04:50 AM

"It's Alive!" (Larry Buchanan, 1969) 0

http://www.dvdverdict.com/images/covers/itsaliveyear2889.jpgThat rating is correct, and I believe that Buchanan probably deserves the Mantle of Worst Director of All-Time because I've probably seen at least four of his movies which I give the same rating. This is an alleged TV movie, but all that means is that it was a theatrical feature which ended up on TV because they were so cheap that that was the easiest way to make any money off of them. This film is par for the Buchanan course: it's utterly-ridiculous, horribly-acted, incompetently-directed, incredibly-cheap and I've already used far more words than the thing deserves. The only thing of any value in this film is that it does give one a brief look inside Onyx Cave, Arkansas, but since my intelligent father-in-law is from Arkansas, I'll be the first to say that it taints that state big-time. I don't know why I bother, but this film is so stupid that the bad guy throws the good guys into a cave where "It's Alive!". Meanwhile, his housekeeper moseys on in and provides them with food (with no bars between them) and then she walks away, and the prisoners can't seem to figure out to just follow her out the cave!

http://www.obscurehorror.com/itsalive.jpg

Where are Johnny and Scott?

It looks so horrible, I think I'll watch it.

Available on Netflix!

Queued to No. 1!

mark f

10-28-09, 04:58 AM

Yep, I give "Year 2889" 0 too, so I guess you call that double feature a twofer-zero!

meatwadsprite

10-28-09, 05:04 AM

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Coraline 2009

Extensive effort has clearly gone into the animation of this clay fantasy, but the story itself lacks the personality and expressiveness of the visuals.

3.5

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:I2vGsvsxhKubQM:http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/Paul-2006/TheExorcistMoviePoster.jpg http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:qF-fFEB61M6i_M:http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/11/01/lindablair_wideweb__470x330,0.jpg

The Exorcist 1973

After years and years of avoiding this movie for fear of being able to sleep ever again, I was actually almost put to sleep by it. Expecting something real and terrible, the only thing truly scary was the makeup job for the girl (which I kind of applaud, because she's pretty adorable).

Doesn't the devil have anything better to do ?

2

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Paranormal Activity 2009

Actually now that I think about, The Exorcist is a masterpiece.

0.5

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OZ3ZpTOMlClGnM:http://www.firstshowing.net/img/michael-clayton-poster.jpg http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:a_GXlnSwEQGY1M:http://media.torontolife.com/dynimages/features/Michael-Clayton-2.gif http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:4UvYROnY1f4EKM:http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/1f82/MichaelClayton.jpg

Michael Clayton 2007

The acting holds up every time I see this, some very superb writing and the final scene is just completly hillarious and awesome every time.

3

mark f

10-28-09, 05:21 AM

Well, of course The Exorcist is real and terrible, but since you have no clue what it's about, why would it have any effect on you? By the way, the Devil is nowhere to be found in the film. When Pazuzu says he's the Devil, he's lying, but he did learn from the Devil. You know, the Guy who told Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge because it was no biggie.

The Exorcist is about how the two priests duel the demon possession. I'm sure now that you've watched it, you can recall a few psychological touches here and there... unless you actually fell asleep. The Exorcist is probably the most spiritual film I've ever seen, but as I said, if you don't get it... [ask me what it means.]

Used Future

10-28-09, 06:17 AM

"It's Alive!" (Larry Buchanan, 1969) 0

I had to do a double take when I saw this because I thought you were panning the (overrated) Larry Cohen film.:laugh:

With regards to losing your post; I know how you feel. I copy everything into my email drafts as I'm going now.

42ndStreetFreak

10-28-09, 08:19 AM

I still think that you have to be (or at least have some kind of respect for it) religious to really get shocked at "The Exorcist".
The film seems to be a Catholic baiting fest to me.
If you don't believe, or don't give a damn about any of this stuff, the suffocating religious aspects, that are important to much of the film, mean little and has even less effect on a horror level.

Whereas "The Omen" simply uses the Bible etc as a set-up and a setting...it is not an actual religious film and works the thrills, shocks and excitement to perfection for anyone, not just religiously devout or knowledgeable.

Saying that, I do like the film and appreciate the craft in it and wallow in the nasty horror stuff. All good fare.
And any perversion of a young girl carries with it a genuine horrific power...whether possession or not is to blame.
But all the 'weighty', 'deep' and critically lauded religious stuff seems to mean very little to anyone else but Christian/Catholic sorts who find literally everything in this film horrific purely from their religious mindset.

If you don't give an evolutionary monkey about such things...I think much of the impact of the film is lost. It still works as a straight horror film for everyone, but only the religious sorts will truly get value for money from the shocks in the film.

Basically much of the film's shock and horror are it's blasphemous aspects...but that only really works AS shock and horror if the blasphemy means anything to you.
But, that's just my view.

Iroquois

10-28-09, 09:35 AM

That actually makes a lot of sense as to why I never really took The Exorcist too seriously. I actually saw a theatrical screening of it earlier this year and while I never felt genuinely shocked or horrified by it (save perhaps for the scenes where Regan gets operated on, although that's just a simple unease over hospital stuff) but I still found it unsettling enough to stop me "enjoying" it as I would with a horror film such as, say, The Evil Dead. I'm not exactly sure how to best sum up my feelings towards The Exorcist - it's a very decent horror but I don't quite find it that great for whatever reason. I don't know, it's weird.

Malky

10-28-09, 09:41 AM

The Boondock Saints 4.5

Been trying to get a hold of this for ages in the UK it is no longer available on region 2 dvd, it came out and was discontinued I'm sure it will come out again very soon. However right now it is hard to get hold of. Anyway I managed to get a copy at a reasonable price £7, for a 3 DVD pack with Money Kings and Made Men. Considering most copies of Boondock Saints go on Ebay for between £10-£15 I'm guessing these other films will be masterpieces.

Anyway on to the film. Simply brilliant and darkly humourous. It contains the best kill I have ever seen on film, there by beating the previous number 1 Jason X. The acting is really good I doff my hat to Willem Defoe who channels Gary Oldman's spirit from Leon very well. I simply adored this film and I know eagerly await the upcoming sequel and ruin the first film.

Iroquois

10-28-09, 09:44 AM

Which kill was the best one?

Loner

10-28-09, 10:52 AM

Yep, I give "Year 2889" 0 too, so I guess you call that double feature a twofer-zero!

Sweet!

Malky

10-28-09, 11:48 AM

Which kill was the best one?

Erm the first one. I cant work spoiler tags here

mark f

10-28-09, 11:48 AM

Regarding The Exorcist, the "religious" aspects (the desecration of the church, etc.) don't shock me, although the use of the crucifix combined with your mother's face is definitely some X-rated stuff. What pushes it above the normal horror film to me is the psychological underpinning of the whole thing. The lead character is Father Karras (Jason Miller) who seems possessed with far more demons that Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). Now, whether one believes the demons to be real or only some manifestation of various characters' other problems, the film plays out just as much as a psychological (or spiritual) thriller as it does a blood and thunder horror flick. The way the "demon Pazuzu" is able to orchestrate the two priests from opposite sides of the world to come together to try to "save" an innocent girl is really quite compelling stuff even if you think it stretches the bounds of credulity. The acting is also about as good as I've ever seen in a horror film.

Iroquois

10-28-09, 11:51 AM

Erm the first one. I cant work spoiler tags here

If my memory's correct, that's the one where...

...the brothers kill the two Russian gangsters in the alley.

Right?

Malky

10-28-09, 12:14 PM

If my memory's correct, that's the one where...

...the brothers kill the two Russian gangsters in the alley.

Right?

with the toilet

Sedai

10-28-09, 02:06 PM

Mirrormask (McKean, 2005)
3_5

http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/652/652531/mirrormask-20050926023728319-000.jpg

I wanted to give this one a higher mark, because I REALLY liked the design ad execution of the concepts in this film, and the actors were good enough. Alas, the writing was pretty thin. Still, a fine fantasy tale told in a very interesting way using techniques that were quite original and cool. The visuals were STELLAR! A must see for surrealists and abstract art fans.

Classicqueen13

10-28-09, 09:29 PM

Not my best week for movies.

http://www.aolcdn.com/ch_kids/college-road-trip-300x400.jpg

I didn't expect much, but this was pretty funny flick. Appeals especially to the father-daughter crowd if you hadn't already got that. Martin Lawerence and Raven Symone have terrific chemistry. I had no problem with the acting in this movie. Some of the gags aren't very original, but the script was decent. A good family movie night canidate, but other than that it was just average.

3

http://www.bollycircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/nothingbuttrouble.jpg

Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy, and Dan Akroyd. Gotta be great right? This was not a great movie. This was not a good movie. I am kind of ashamed to say I was entertained. It was mere fascination I think. Lots of grossout humor, and very low on good jokes. Kindy campy Halloween flick. If you like lower quality films, this is one to check out.

2.5

http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/Back_to_Bataan.jpg/200px-Back_to_Bataan.jpg

John Wayne and Anthony Quinn star in this true story based tale. The acting is what you would expect, great. Although this film was a little too sad for my taste. Mostly because of:When the poor little boy Maximo died, it was :bawling: A fanatasitc war movie however.

3

http://www.qwipster.net/runaway.jpg

This one I figured was basically a 50/50 shot whether or not it would be good. A few talented actors throughout the cast. Set in the future but the phone I saw was of the early cell phone design. But I got to the part where Tom Selleck and his partner were chasing a little robot through a cornfield and lost all hope.

1.5

http://static.omdb.si/posters/active/95769.jpg

Only made it half way into this one, if that. The special effects were poor and the whole thing was pretty predictable. It opens up okay but will have you anxious for the end. Don't waste the time.

1.5

42ndStreetFreak

10-28-09, 10:32 PM

Head Cheerleader, Dead Cheerleader - 1.5

Heather Connelly is the head cheerleader for the Cats cheerleading squad and is, along with her fellow pom pom wavers, getting ready for the
big college football game.
But when someone starts chopping up her cheerleading squad Heather is caught up in a web of murderous town secrets….

Writer/director Jeffrey Miller certainly has a old school horror fan’s love of the Slasher sub-genre and puts it to good use in the first half of his ultra low budget movie, where only the cheapjack FX and general ‘home grown’ look of the film letting the side down.
A stock company of Slasher cliché characters are trotted out (the creepy male coach, the douchebag boyfriend, the bitchy cheerleading honeys, the weird old guy with a past, the bumbling Sheriff and the angry - flatulence filled - handyman) as are the old school stalking scenes and (cheap) gore moments, like a good old severed head discovery scene.
It may be cheap, generally badly acted and anything but original but there is an energy here, lots of incident and a fun 80’s attitude to the proceedings.
Though there are far too many ‘false scare’ scenes!

The film is rather too fast and lean for its own good actually.
Killings seem to happen with no sense of time and seem to get relayed via phone gossip. Characters are just bumped off only to be mentioned in dispatches a few minutes later with no linking footage to explain how people even know the murders have taken place and even then occasionally the news of a murder is known by some of the characters but not others, again making you wonder how the news of them is actually relayed.

As we have a film about cheerleaders we must surely have nudity? Indeed we do, but only two topless scenes are provided (one by minor cult sctress Debbie Rochon) so there is not the amount of gratuity we would have all liked, but hey, at least we have something!

As far as the violence goes, there’s a very childish, bad taste sexual aspect to the otherwise bog standard axe attacks due to the fact the killer has a marvelous aim as far as breasts go.
Rubber mammaries fall like autumn leaves here and only the joke shop comedy boobs used for the chopped off appendages keeps the grossness at bay.
The rubber globes are joined by an equally rubbery head and foot so as not to feel lonely.

Sadly after a good couple of these ‘so bad they’re good’ axe murders the rest of the killings happen not just off screen, but off screenplay as it later turns out that most of the cheerleaders have all been bumped off, yet the audience had no idea and were shown absolutely nothing.

One bewildering aspect of the film is that it is meant to be set on Halloween, but you really wouldn't know it as there is zero Halloween atmosphere or even any basic trappings to be seen.
Suspects and red herrings are thrown at the screen in almost parody level numbers and are as subtle as a flying crimson tit.
To say that almost everyone in this town is whacked out 'n' weird is an understatement.

Far too many times the film also gets bogged down in scary phone calls that are not remotely scary and far too long. And they are the root of all evil that now smother the last half of the movie.
At one point the film suddenly decides to stay in Heather's house for the remaining running time as she takes endless weird, plodding, phone calls from the killer and opens the door to all known local weirdo’s.
Now all of a sudden the trashy energy the film had has been sapped by walls of nothingness filled dialogue as the film imprisons itself, in Heather's living room.
This screams that the budget was almost gone so the director just set up camp in the bland living room for the rest of the movie.

The big reveal of who is doing the killing is once again just some characters talking in that damn living room as well.
And when I say talking...I mean talking!
The motive for the slayings was so long-winded and unstructured I had to wind the film back twice to give myself any chance of trying to follow the reasoning on display here.
But wait! Even after all that talk there seems to be yet another twist to explain...with yet more talk!

Now the trailer for “Head Cheerleader…” may crassly use the theme from “Halloween” on it, but the finale of the film itself is now as far from the violence filled, tension drenched scare fest that made up the finale of Carpenter's classic as you can get!
And this dialogue heavy finale would be deadening enough anyway, but coming right after spending 15 odd minutes of watching a person sitting on a couch answering the phone it reaches hellish heights of tedium.

To be fair there is a very brief 'trying to escape the psycho' sequence at the very end (though here escaping means just moving into the kitchen!) that delivers some possibly intentional humour in the
way it plays out and the use of choice dialogue.
At last some of that energy and fun re-appears but it's far too little far too late and yet again we need another weighty monologue at the end of it to explain this new plot twist before the (final, final) ending reveals that actually something else was also going on but we are left, even with all that dialogue we just sat through, with no idea what it was or whom it involved!

So a cheap but fun homage to 80’s Slasher films turns into a maddeningly dull phone conversation on a couch.
How frustratingly tragic.

mark f

10-28-09, 10:40 PM

I'm guessing you got this for free?

42ndStreetFreak

10-28-09, 10:51 PM

I'm guessing you got this for free?

No no...It cost me a precious £1!

jrs

10-29-09, 02:10 AM

Michael Jackson's This is It 5

http://i37.tinypic.com/2h34jd5.jpg

Golgot

10-29-09, 12:24 PM

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/7246/way2.jpg

The Way We Were

Slightly soft-focused look at a dysfunctional relationship evolving from the start of WW2 into the paranoid McCarthy era. Despite the interesting backdrop, and the character's erstwhile preoccupations with them, it all felt a bit glossed over. Hard to cover that much ground I guess, especially when your spotlight is on the foreground clashes and recriminations. It did feel 'glossy' though, despite the later focus on the struggles of 'lefty' writers (something which didn't feel too self-indulgent. Normally I'm bugged by writers writing about the struggles of writing etc as a key premise, but here at least they had something to bitch about ;))

The relationship is interesting though, and Streisand and Redford keep their slightly two-dimensional characters 'alive' for the most part, helped by the sparkier end of the dialogue. It's worth a sentimental watch.

3(+)

meatwadsprite

10-29-09, 08:26 PM

Shouldn't it be called This Was Nearly It?

Other titles that were shopped around ...

This is Not It
This is Directed by Kenny Ortega
It is what it is

and .....

This is S***

forgive me Michael

undercoverlover

10-29-09, 08:46 PM

Soylent Green

First viewing. Disappointing but interesting. There's good idea here but its buried in banal storytelling and poor setups.

undercoverlover

10-29-09, 09:08 PM

jesus people lets feel some love up in here

help me decide what to watch next:

THX 1138 or All That Jazz?

ive never seen either of them, what to do folks?

jrs

10-29-09, 09:09 PM

jesus people lets feel some love up in here

help me decide what to watch next:

Thx 1138 or all that jazz?

Ive never seen either of them, what to do folks?

thx 1138 :]

Yoda

10-29-09, 09:13 PM

By way of full disclosure, I've deleted the fight between Pyro and jrs. Not taking sides at all, but I think both of you guys know that the personal stuff was a bit over the line. Anyway, on with the show. :)

jrs

10-29-09, 09:17 PM

but I think both of you guys know that the personal stuff was a bit over the line.

Well he was being an idiot..at least I spoke the truth ;).

Anyway, on with the show. :)

Here's my latest, which you deleted in my last post.

Terminator Salvation 3_5

Yoda

10-29-09, 09:19 PM

Alright, enough, man. I'd have thought it was pretty clear that I was trying to get this stuff out of this thread, so I don't know why you think it'd be cool to reiterate what you were saying, winking-smilie-face-emoticon or not. Please move on.

Pyro Tramp

10-29-09, 09:21 PM

Let it go jrs. Despite Yoda's intervention, you still going at it?

I made a comment on that connotations of using present tense in the films title, when Jackson's passed and the event the film tracks never really transpired, meaning the film title implies 'it' is remenants opposed to a triumphant statement. And also the irony of it's release date.

undercoverlover

10-29-09, 09:24 PM

honestly, it was just funny. appropriate for the thread? no. funny? yes

Aside from this, jrs would you be happy to see a sequel from McG in the Terminator series?

42ndStreetFreak

10-29-09, 09:35 PM

"The Lodger" 2.5

Hitchcock's 1927 silent adaptation of the book of the same name by Marie Lowndes, based roughly around the Jack the Ripper killings.

Someone is killing off blond haired women on the foggy London streets.
A mysterious lodger (the now legendary Ivor Novello) takes rooms at the house of an old couple who have a the pretty,blond, daughter named Daisy.
As the lodger steps out into the dark streets...another murder occurs....

Not remotely in the same class as true silent classics, Hitchcock's first real public success is hampered by many (of course mute) conversational scenes that fall dead without any words bar a few short inter-titles.
Novello's acting at first is also too sinister and overwrought to make us believe he would ever have got through the front door, let alone be taken in as a lodger and there is little incident in the story.

There are positives here though.
We have some fun 'sinister' visuals, most famously the scene where Novello appears at the lodging house, framed in the doorway, with his only his eyes showing above his scarf shrouded visage and with that iconic (though utterly erroneous) Ripper black medical bag clasped in his hand, and a few shots effectively based on German Expressionist cinema.
And the plot is interesting enough to hold the attention (just) as Hitch piles on the fog, Cockney 'salt off the Earth' characters, shocked bystanders, dumbfounded Bobbies on the beat and best of all the angry mob in the genuinely tense and pretty tough finale.
The film needlessly goes on for a couple of sequences after this finale for no good reason though and so the effect of the subsequent 'angry mob' sequence is weakened.

Worth a look from any historical point of view and for those few effective scene, and it's surprising to think that this was in cinemas just 40 years after The Ripper prowled London's streets, this closeness adds to the film's fascination as many of those who may have sat in the audience in 1927 would have lived through the slayings.

"Fear 2: Halloween Night" 1.5

Dopey wooden supernatural guy aside, this has nothing to do wth the first "Fear" and stands on its own.
The film is a very slow builder and no red stuff is seen until well passed the hour mark. But the acting is fine, the film is generally well made and the unfolding plot manages to just about hold the attention.

The later killings are pretty weak, but one is quite violent and a few dollops of crimson get splashed around. But it has one of those nonsensical finale frame twists that serves no purpose and really the entire thing is too low key for its own good.
Worth a look if you can get it very cheap (which it is).

"Time after Time" 4.5

Amazingly this gem has slipped though the cracks of time (ho ho) and is generally forgotten about now.
This is a travesty that needs addressing.

A great plot has Jack The Ripper (essayed by a brilliantly on form David Warner) turn out to be a Dr Stevenson, a close friend of none other than author H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell in a superb, non-hammy, performance).
With the Police on his heels 'Jack' flees in Wells' very own time machine and ends up (where the machine ended up) in San Francisco circa 1979!

Without a special key, that Wells has, the time machine goes back whence it came and so H.G steels his nerves and goes after The Ripper.
While looking for 'Jack' he meets bank employee Amy (A wonderfully cute, slightly spaced but strong and wilful turn by Mary Steenburgen) and finds himself falling in love with her, even as he reallses the violence of future society makes The Ripper look like a novice. And soon the murdered bodies of prostitutes start turning up in San Francisco...

A cuttingly astute mix of the comic, the whimsical and the deadly serious Nicholas Meyer's film juggles these ingredients perfectly and the move from the 'man out of his time' humour that plays a big part in the first half of the film into straight ahead thriller territory for the tense final third of the movie is seamless.
The screenplay makes much of Wells' being not only from another time but also being English and there are some lovely comedy sequences here to enjoy all perfectly played by McDowell who bounces off Steenburgen wonderfully.
Warner's role is always serious and his strong delivery, voice and presence ensures that we never crucially forget, 70's denim get-up or not, what a dangerous killer his character is and again his scenes with McDowell are superb.

Despite the topic, violence is pretty tame due to the fact that at it's heart the film is as much a fish out of water love story as a hunt for a serial killer flick, but Meyer brilliantly manages to crank up the tension and threat during Jack's brief killings and the occasional splash of blood (and in one case a severed arm on the floor) effectively add much needed darkness to the rest of the movie's lovable lightness of touch.

Highlight of the thriller aspects of the film must be a brilliantly staged, edited and acted (McDowell is simply amazing) extended sequence involving Well's trying to stop Stevenson's next murder but finding himself a prisoner of disbelieving Police as The Ripper closes in on his victim. Cleverly using what we have already learned from a future newspaper about the murder this sequence will stick in the mind of anyone who sees it as we are truly put through the emotional wringer.

You can pick a few holes in the plot (as is basically the folly of all time travel stories) but that aside, "Time after Time" is a classy, clever, funny, charming, tense, exciting and strongly emotional journey through time that is exquisitely acted and highly memorable.

jrs

10-29-09, 09:36 PM

Let it go jrs. Despite Yoda's intervention, you still going at it?

No, i did nothing in the first place. But it's whatever

jrs would you be happy to see a sequel from McG in the Terminator series?

Depends, Salvation was an alright film and left off to make another film. If they do it right (if it is gonna be made at all) and I se a clip or two, i might see it. Terminator: Salvation had some flaws with continuity of the whole saga so I'm kinda iffy.

Pyro Tramp

10-29-09, 09:37 PM

jrs

10-29-09, 09:42 PM

!

!! :p

undercoverlover

10-29-09, 10:16 PM

now now children, play nice

ive only seen one terminator movie and it was the second one but from what i hear thats the only one worth watching. im a bit hesitant to watch all of them for fear of disappointment

Iroquois

10-29-09, 10:19 PM

The first one is pretty damned good for a piece of low-budget 80s schlock, and I prefer it to the second one. The third is mostly crap, as is Salvation.

Pyro Tramp

10-29-09, 10:21 PM

Definitely watch the first UCL, it's a far tighter film with very innovative use of budget

undercoverlover

10-29-09, 10:22 PM

thank you internet chums i may just do that

currently watching Kissing Jessica Stein for the millionth time

honeykid

10-29-09, 10:37 PM

I'm with the "watch the first one" brigade, UCL. I prefer it to the second one too.

Holden Pike

10-29-09, 11:52 PM

help me decide what to watch next:

THX 1138 or All That Jazz?

ive never seen either of them, what to do folks?

http://www.coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.com/archives/roy%20scheider%20jazz.jpg
ALL THAT JAZZ

mark f

10-30-09, 01:46 AM

Soylent Green

First viewing. Disappointing but interesting. There's good idea here but its buried in banal storytelling and poor setups.

What about the Eddie G. Finale with the widescreen, flowers and stereophonic sound? That's worth a whole heckuva lot, if you ask me. All That Jazz, I should hope...

Thursday Next

10-30-09, 04:25 AM

Watched Nil By Mouth (1997). Gary Oldman's film of thuggery and domestic violence in South London, apparently based on his own life.

At first I couldn't get this to play because Film4 has film ratings and I needed to put in my PIN on skyplus, which I couldn't remember. Oddly, though, if you just exit the screen asking for your PIN and try again, it doesn't ask you again. Handy for me trying to watch the film, but slightly worrying in case children try the same thing...

Anyway, if you are over 18, I would recommend this film. Harrowing and bleak, sure, but so very real. Real in a way that films like Kidulthood and This is England aspire to but don't quite succeed in achieving. Very well directed and superbly acted, particularly by Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke. I feel a little sorry for Ray Winstone being typecast, but he plays thugs so well.

undercoverlover

10-30-09, 07:27 AM

What about the Eddie G. Finale with the widescreen, flowers and stereophonic sound? That's worth a whole heckuva lot, if you ask me. All That Jazz, I should hope...

twas easily the best scene but only one good scene a movie does not make

TheMightyCelestial

10-30-09, 08:47 AM

A couple of flicks that I recently watched & really liked:

Michael Clayton
Corporate corruption revealed more in it's ability to constrict the world of business towards it's own needs more than in its services to actually provide to it's supposed clientele.
A "thinking man's" political thriller in that it's suspense is driven more by the consequences of it's story than it is by action.
George Clooney does a capable job, Tom Wilkinson is always fun to watch, Tilda Swinton is always even more fun to watch, and of course, Michael Clayton is one of the last movies to be produced (along with his final acting role) by the late Mr. Sydney Pollack.

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53.5

The Cooler
I really like William H. Macy. For me, he's one of those actors that seems to make more right decisions than bad when it comes to choosing a part in a film.
And while it's always cool to see him in any movie, when he's the lead character, it's usually even cooler.

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52

The Elephant Man
No, I wasn't disappointed that this movie is not about a guy who gets elephantine-like powers after he gets bitten by a radioactive elephant.
Turns out that it's a movie directed by David Lynch, his first major film after Eraserhead (& no, that movie is not about a guy who gets bitten by a radioactive eraser. Something that I found out the hard way. Superhero flix just weren't that popular back then). Told in a more straight-forward manner than his debut film, but with the same black & white palette that adds an eeriness to the "based on a true story" film. The true story being that of the life of Joseph Merrick, a man so afflicted with a physical deformity, that, after being pursued by a group of on-lookers who have boiled over into an angry mob, he finds himself anguishly reminding them that, despite his severe bestial physical imperfections, he is not an animal, but, in fact, a human being.
I feel for the guy. I hate when that happens to me.

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53

The Grifters
While this movie includes the type of grand grift scheme that makes these types of films appealing, it's also depicts the very dark side that comes along with most actual confidence games.
The characters aren't as endearing as in most other films of this genre, but they are most certainly interesting, adding a sharp & jagged dimension to a theme that has a tendency to sway a little too much on the fluffier side.
Thru all the lead characters, this move reveals that grifters wear their dark sunglasses not so much to look cool, but more to shadow the deceits that lie behind their grifting eyes & their grifting smiles.

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54

The Last Emperor
The end of not just an ancient & epic era in Chinese history, but probably in world history, also. Depicted through the life a young boy, then man, born into the role of monarchy, yet powerless but to sit on a thrown & watch it happen in front of him.
Told with expansive & colorful scenery, The Last Emperor is an almost quiet yet sweeping story of a life that begins royally in a dynastic palace & yet ends most modestly in a humble garden.

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54

Malky

10-30-09, 09:26 AM

Cirque Du Freak:Vampires Assistant 3 An enjoyable we romp that sets up the franchise well. John C Reilly gives a really good and understate performance which may help give him some respectability back. Willem Defoe appears as a cameo and wonderfully hams things up

zedlen

10-30-09, 05:22 PM

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2009/09/surrogates-movie-image-bruce-willis-and-radha-mitchell1.jpg

Surrogates Jonathan Mostow 2009

So this is from the director who massacred Terminator 3. The b*st*rd. And guess what, hes at the helm of another movie about robots who look like people.. he has some range. I didn't expect much of this and there wasn't much to be had. Surrogates is a cliche robot movie and resembles other robot movies. I'Robot first and foremost, it even stars James Cromwell as the creator who has gone off the deep end.. exactly as he does in I'Robot, that is just weak. There are a few Terminator style chase scenes, the director is really stretching himself. I refuse to compare this to Blade Runner even if there are some similar themes because it just it just doesn't deserve it.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/../images/popcorn/1box.gif

honeykid

10-30-09, 05:48 PM

My God! It's not as bad as Blade Runner is it? :p

TheMightyCelestial

10-30-09, 06:55 PM

This year, more than any other, for almost the whole month of October, I've been watchin' just a crapload of "Halloweenesque" type of titles, to help enhance the spirit of the season for me.
Of the bunch, here are the ones that I've liked:

Zombieland
I've never been really big into the horror-comedy genre. It always felt to me that the comedy sorta cancels out the horror aspect of the film. Fortunately, Zombieland seems to focus more with the comedy area of it's premise, & the story centered more on the main characters dealing in world with few human survivors than it does on these characters battling their way thru flanks upon flanks of zombies (though, there are enough of those scenes to warrant the name of this movie). So, even though I'm not a big fan of zombie apocalypses, I found that I was able to sit thru this one with a bit more of an appreciation not only for the sub-genre itself, but more importantly, with an appreciation for a certain actor* with the initials BM. And yet, even more importantly, with an appreciation for the fact that I live in a time when I don't have to worry about life's little Twinkie gauge going on empty.

51.5
*Kind of a spoiler if I mention the actor's name.

The Orphanage
An orphanage-turned-family-household begins to show signs of a haunting after an adopted orphan dissappears, leaving his adopted mother on a quest that will result in either solving the mystery of her son's disappearance, or lead her down a cryptic road to madness.

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A film that's so Guillermo-Del-Toroesque, that it comes off almost exactly like a Guillermo Del Toro film. And surprise, surprise, even though it was neither written or directed by Señor Del Toro, he did pick it up as producer (the script was from the hand of Sergio G. Sánchez & the film was directed by Juan Antonio Bayona). However, let it be known that making such a comparison is not any kind of accusation of imitation, but more of a compliment to all those involved in making this creepy entertaining ghost tale which gears itself towards those viewers who are armed with a decent attention span.

53

Da Devil's Backbone
"What is a ghost?
A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again?
A moment of pain, perhaps?
Something dead which still seems to be alive?
A emotion suspended in time.
Like a blurred photograph.
Like an insect trapped in amber.
A ghost.

That's what I am."
Guillermo Del Toro's tale of how an orphanage-turned-temporary safe-haven begins to show signs of a haunting after one of the orphan boys disappears (can you see why I stressed the comparison to Del Toro on my Orhanage entry?).
A story that may seem somewhat simplistic at first,
but when combined with the background dramas of both the lead characters, along with those hinted at of the supporting characters, along with the blatant "not-so-blatant" metaphors that are the director's strong-suit (that is, it's his strong-suit only if he isn't directing a Hellboy movie),
The Devil's Backbone turns out to be a satisfyingly rich movie that goes more for creepy metaphysical melodrama than it does for in-your-face scare tactics.

52

Paperhouse
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What dreams may come from the imagination of a little girl. Especially when those dreams can become reality. First on paper, then into the world of the awakened.
This is a movie that I don't actually recall when it first came out, but whenever I mention it to anybody around me, most of them tend to respond with "Oh that's right, I remember that....". Paperhouse turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me & a good example of the best thing that can happen when going about these types of movie-viewing marathons.
Though the ending doesn't seem to come together as well as a majority of the first part of the story, over-all, I really liked the sparse fantasy element of the film, the way the sleep sequences are interwoven with the main character's life situation, & the slow build-up that starts out from a young girl's dreams & then leads into the fears of her nightmares.

52.5

Drácula (Spanish-language version)(1931)
As anybody who knows me knows, the Universal Movie Monster Trio of Dracula, Frankenstein & The Wolfman are perennial favorites on my TV set every Halloween. Therefore, I had meant to watch this Spanish version of Dracky for awhile now, especially since TCM tends to show it every once in a while, back to back with it's American counterpart.
Filmed at the same time (literally) as the Bela Lugosi version, this one features the same energy & enthusiasm as it's originator, seems even crisper in appearance (at least, to my eyes), & has more creative camera work than was allowed to the original version. Yet the best part of it all, is that this one is longer in length, but without any sacrfice to it's story quality.
Though, the actor playing Dracula doesn't seem to have the "weight" in his presence that Bela Lugosi did,
over-all, this is still a version of the "rey de los vampiros" that, after finally watching it, makes me feel like I just struck some big time cinema gold.

55

Paranormal Activity
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Even though I find myself surprised at how much I've been consistantly entertained by the majority of those movies that have been made with the handheld-cam method of filmmaking, I thought for sure that by this point in time, we've pretty much reached the point of exhausting the genre.
Then comes along this movie & shows that in a style of cinema that should've been drained of life by now, when entering the realm of the paranormal, there can still be some signs of activity.

54

Trick 'R Treat
What do you get when you pack in a coven of werewolves, a group of misfit zombies, a serial killing neighbor & a mischievious trick-or-tricking imp all into one script?
A Jack 'O' Latern filled candy-collection of quality, modern campy Halloween tales of the escapist-fare variety done right: With more focus on the quality than on the camp.
This movie, for me, has got the feel of all those big budget horror flix released during the late 80's & thru-out the 90's. The kind that always frustrated me because their scripts rarely reached the level of their budgets.
Trick 'R Trick comes closer to the type of fun onscreen fearfest that I would've like to have seen during that particular time of the horror cinema.

52

Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
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While I respect George Romero's horror/comedy zombie flix & I understand that there's an audience out there for it, the truth is, I myself have little patience for this specific brand of subgenre.
Therefore, when Zack Snyder came along & redid Dawn with a budget more substantial than what Mssr. Romero is used to, & with a more solid storyline, along with the shlock gage turned down a couple of notches, I found myself actually enjoying watching a film about a subject that beforehand, I had no interest in: a mallful of zombies searching for something to munch on beyond the barriers of the food court.

51.5

Session 9
A small group of professional asbestos removers find out what can be even scarier than having a job as asbestos-removers:
"cleaning out" an old abandoned mental state hospital, where the walls have a tendency to whisper out your name & old patient session tapes that reveal the darkness that lays not only within those same walls, but also the darkness that dwells within your soul.
Ooooo....
scary....

52

Dog Soldiers
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What do you do when the werewolves begin to attack systematically & in packs?
Send in the troops.
And then just sit back, and enjoy, as the bullets, blood, big booms & British accents fly.

52.5

The Descent
Neil Marshall follows up his directorial debut, Dog Soldiers, with The Descent, a movie that goes about disproving the current popular idea that in order to make a really "good" horror flick, it has to have an incredibly limited budget.
In this one, a group of hot ladies go deep exploring into some dark, damp holes & then go about gettin' themselves eaten.
Believe me, it's not as sexy as it may sound.

53

Stuck
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/themightycelestial_bucket/Misc%20stuff/FotoFlexer_Photo-24.jpg
Okay, this film is what I'm talkin' about.
To be honest,
I don't really regard this movie as a "horror" or "Halloween" flick, but I was parusing through an article about underrated & little known horror movies, & this one came up. I had never heard about it, but then again, I have a bad habit of not paying attention to what's going on in the world. (Blasted attention span. Despite what I said in the movie entry for The Orphanage, mine isn't as long as I like to claim. Probably due to all the hours upon hours I spent as a youth in front of the T.V. watching cartoons, playing Nintendo, & being totally hypnotized by the onion-booty porn that I kept sneaking outta my dad's so-called "secret" stash. Anyways....)
A story about a homeless guy who gets imbedded into a young woman's car windshield after she hits him with said car, and then, after weighing the consequences of the incident, she decides not to really do anything to help him. She doesn't even bother to try & at least squeegee him off.
And yeah, believe it or not,
they were able to extend this idea into the length of an entire movie.
Goes to show just what humankind is capable of.
No wonder we were able to put a man on the moon.

54.5

Okay,
these next couple of flix are films that I've already seen, but haven't given a view in quite a while. So their respective rewatches served more as a reminder to me of just how much I like each of 'em & probably should dust the cobwebs offa them more often:

The Sixth Sense
Okay, saying that this is M. Knight Shyamalan's best film (by far) may sound overly obvious (by far),
but,
it is (by far).
A very good from-the-beyond-yarn that starts out by depicting the debilitating effects of being able to percieve ghosts. Then, almost completely, turns it around to show how this paranormal ability can be more of a help than a hindrance, if we just gave the spooky spectres a chance. Maybe seeing dead people ain't so bad.
Though when I really think about it, if I wanted any kind of communication with lost wandering spirits, I'd rather just stick to commiserating online with all of my fellow MoFos on this site.

55

Creature From The Black Lagoon
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/themightycelestial_bucket/Misc%20stuff/FotoFlexer_Photo-27-1.jpg
A group of scientists go out on a South American expedition in search of a missing link to help them fill in the void of evolution.
However, once they find it,
the no longer missing link begins on his own quest, in search of a mate to help fill in the void within his heart.
Or maybe his dorsal-finned butt is just horny.
Either way,
the female crew member of this expedition ends up getting wet & screaming alot.

53

Nightmare Before Christmas
I grew up at a time when animated features shown during prime-time were not the norm.
Therefore, holiday specials like It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown & Santa Claus Is Coming Town were usually an event, not only in that they were a rare moment to watch a cartoon at night, but also because they enhanced the feeling of the holidays. Of which, my faves were, obviously, Halloween & Christmas (free candy & free presents!).
I remember that when Nightmare Before Christmas first came out, I initially liked it. But, now, I find that this Burton-produced feature seems to age really well for me. As each All Hallow's Eve goes by, & I continually find myself liking it even more than before.
Not only because it manages to successfully merge my two fave holidays as a kid, but also, because it's macabre look & atmosphere are the type of traits that I would've died for (pun, not all that much intended) back then.
Not to mention that whenever I listen to tunes like "What's This?" or "This Is Halloween", I am reminded of hearing "Put One Foot In Front Of The Other", or "We're A Couple Of Misfits", songs that, as corny as they are, now with a grown-up's perspective, my hardcore, hairy pimp-ass' has to humbly admit, will always be a part of my childhood holiday memories.

54.5

Thirst
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/themightycelestial_bucket/Misc%20stuff/FotoFlexer_Photo-22.jpg
Actually, this isn't so much a rewatch as it is a no-watch.
I haven't been able to see this latest effort by Korean director Park Chan-wook. Why? Because, even though I live near a major metropolitan area, it still never made it to any of the theatres around the area where I live. And as someone who really enjoyed all three films from his Vengeance Trilogy, particularly Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, I consider that to be a crime.
Therefore, I'm posting this entry as a sign of how this list should look like. There is no reason why this film should've been so unavailable for the movie-viewing aspect that makes up the entertainment craving half of my brain.
I swear,
we can put a man on the moon,
but..........

00 (no rating http://prince.org/i/s/icon_pout.gif.... yet....)

Happy Halloween, everybody!
http://prince.org/i/s/icon_pumpkin.gif

42ndStreetFreak

10-30-09, 09:30 PM

GREAT work 'Celestial'!

"Aenigma" 0.5

Oohhhhh....Oohhhhh....Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.
What the hell ever happened Lucio Fulci?
What went wrong?
What?

Completely, utterly, numbingly tedious drivel. When the best scene in the movie involves a rubber slug and snail ****, you know you have real problems.

Jared Martin teams up with Fulci again 3 years after "Fighting Centurions" to far lesser success as Lucio bores us to tears with that old chestnut the 'revenge while in a coma' plot.

Virtually goreless this plods from tedious dialogue scene to tedious dialogue scene (with crap dialogue) until a stupendously weak and bloodless death scene arrives......then it's back to the tedious dialogue again.

We have some unattractive breasts and a colossal bit of writhing booty to give us at least something to stare at and the famous 'death by snail 'n' slug' scene works on a gross-out gonzo level as (rubber slug in the mouth aside) these are indeed tons of real snails really oozing and dripping and crapping their way over the actress's body.
But hey! Anyone with a camcorder, lots of snails and a very forgiving female friend could make that scene work! So not much praise for Fulci there either.

OH boy...Can this really be the same Fulci that gave us such magnificent Gothic Gore Gems as "City of the Living Dead", "House by the Cemetery" and the truly iconic "Zombi 2"??
Hell, this makes "Door to Silence" look like "The Beyond"!

Lay down the slug pellets and kill this monstrosity!! Never let this festering sore of a film anywhere near your precious eyes!
Save your brain and indeed your very soul and walk away...no, run away...if you ever see this thing cluttering up a DVD shelf.

inthecornerdunce-

11-01-09, 06:28 PM

42ndStreetFreak

11-01-09, 06:37 PM

Idi i smotri [ 'Come and See' ] - 1985.

This was the final film that Elem Klimov ever directed. Having experienced World War II with his own eyes as a child, he felt that it was a film that he needed to make, and, after doing so, he was no longer compelled to continue directing. The director comments, once again on the DVD preface: "I don't regret that I made that film. It had a difficult pre-history and history. But one has to make it a difference once in a while, to commit something worthy. Herein lies the sense of creative work, when you can offer to people something real serious, real meaningful…" Simply put, this is the masterpiece that he was born to make, and a single viewing will ultimately change the way that you view war.

"Come and See" is pretty unforgettable.
The 'barn sequence is utterly grueling when the Nazi’s come with belching smoke and deafening noise and animal lust for murder and pillage.
And it's truly an unforgettable sight, as this huge, frenzied, Nazi carnival of death carries out it’s sickening work, to see the young boy literally age before our very eyes.
We see every single piece of him vanish until there is nothing left but barely restrained madness, as the foul sights and smells of total war etch their deep, permanent mark onto his once young face.

Aleksei Kravchenko as the young boy has to be said gives one of the most outstanding and harrowing performances from any child actor for decades.
Where are the Oscar Nominations?
You will never forget the close-ups of his startlingly aged face and his haunted, till the day he dies, eyes as he brings home to the audience all the horror that his character is experiencing.

The Nazi/German uniforms and equipment look wonderfully authentic as well, it's a brilliantly made and acted film but hard to class as any kind of entertainment.

Harry Lime

11-02-09, 04:02 AM

A week of more recent movies for me.
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Monsters vs. Aliens (2009, Rob Letterman) 2.5
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Seven Pounds (2008, Gabriele Muccino) 2.5
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Year One (2009, Harold Ramis) 2.5
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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009, Michael Bay) 2
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/5landofthelost.jpg
Land of the Lost (2009, Brad Silberling) 2
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/6startrek.jpg
Star Trek (2009, JJ Abrams) 3
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/7moon.jpg
Moon (2009, Duncan Jones) 3.5

jrs

11-02-09, 04:05 AM

9 4

http://i33.tinypic.com/2ed8rus.jpg

Malky

11-02-09, 09:21 AM

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus-Actually rather dull and boring in places 2.5

Iroquois

11-02-09, 09:47 AM

http://mimg.ugo.com/200706/1005/halloween2007_poster_thumb.jpg

Halloween (Rob Zombie, 2007) - 2

Kept putting this movie off for ages, after seeing it on Halloween (obviously) I came to the fairly obvious conclusion that I wasn't missing anything special. Given that the only other Zombie film I've seen, House of 1000 Corpses, was very tough to like, I had somewhat low expectations, and they were "met", I guess. While Zombie didn't totally ruin the film, he didn't exactly make the most of it, losing a lot of the original film's suspense by taking up a large chunk of the film with providing an admittedly unnecessary backstory, leaving no time to develop characters to care about (maybe trading off the fact that they're characters we were supposed to care about in the original, so why not now?).

TheUsualSuspect

11-02-09, 04:51 PM

Don't even bother with the sequel Iro, it's ten times worse.

Used Future

11-02-09, 06:32 PM

http://www.wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/3424__x400_sisters_poster_01.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_v0fV15P7uQo/SqvmW4anVwI/AAAAAAAAGW8/HaqcmKyYGgk/s400/sisters.jpg

Sisters (Brian De Palma, 1973) 3.5
Hugely enjoyable thriller from De Palma (in full on Hitchcock mode) with Margot Kidder terrific as the saner half of recently separated conjoined twins, Danielle and Dominique. Unfortunately her sister is a homicidal maniac, and after a particularly grisly murder in her flat, an inquisitive journalist neighbour Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt) comes-a-knockin' having witnessed the slaying from her window (ala Rear Window). Before the police can get there however, Danielle's ex husband Emil (William Finley who looks the spit of John Waters in this) turns up and cleans up the mess. Naturally the police are inept, leaving Grace to team up with private dick Joseph Larch (Charles Durning in a small but highly amusing role) as things get weirder by the minute. Compelling stuff that loses it's way towards the end slightly, becoming muddled, but complimented by wonderful performances from the entire cast (who look like they're having a lot of fun), and sporting some highly suspenseful sequences. Film also features (if a little too much) early usage of the split screen technique De Palma would later use to such great effect in Carrie. Recommended.

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww335/GialloFunk/276__x400_android_poster_01.jpg?t=1257197671

Android (Aaron Lipstadt, 1982) 4
This is an old favourite I like to put on every couple of years, and it just keeps getting better with each viewing (so much in fact that I've finally upgraded it to dvd). Don Opper (who also co scripted and is probably best known as Charlie from the Critters films) is pitch perfect as Max; a sensitive, eccentric android, curious about women, sex and love. Unfortunately he's stuck in deep space aboard mad scientist Klaus Kinski's research station as humanoid robots are illegal on Earth. Things are further complicated by a volatile trio of escaped convicts he allows aboard; one of whom turns out to be a woman who falls for his odd ball charms. Naturally she has no idea he's a bucket of bolts, and to cap it all off, Kinski's planning to deactivate him once he's perfected his new female super-android. Another New World Pictures quickie that also reuses sets from Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars (along with Galaxy of Terror, Space Raiders and Forbidden World/Mutant - all of which I also love) Android is engrossing stuff with an intelligent offbeat script, and a truly wonderful performance from Opper. Sadly Kinski only has a couple of scenes, but is as intense as ever, and Brie Howard is eminently tough and tender in equal measure as love interest Maggie. This won't appeal to everyone due to the low rent production values (though I happen to love that late 70's early 80's low budget retro look) but anyone looking for quirky sci-fi with a soul could do worse than to check this overlooked gem out.

other stuff I watched...

http://www.britposters.com/images/terror%20320x240.jpg

Terror (Norman J. Warren, 1978) 2.5+
Enjoyable cheapie from Warren who was clearly trying to emulate Dario Argento's Suspiria with this tale of a house cursed by a three hundred year old witch, and the low budget film crew who meet a grisly end after partying there. Lots of psychedelic lighting and some surprisingly gory deaths (including an awesome semi-beheading by a rogue window pane) punctuate this stylish, but otherwise routine time filler.

http://www.britposters.com/images/the%20professionals%20320x240.jpg

The Professionals (Richard Brooks, 1966) 4
There was me thinking I hadn't seen this, but it all came flooding back once that narrow sandstone pass came into view. This is a film my dad sat down and watched with me when I was a kid. I remember him saying something along the lines of 'come on, we're going to watch an excellent western adventure film now, you'll love it'. He wasn't wrong, but somehow the memory has faded over the last twenty five years. Imagine my delight when I realised this was that very film, and I could finally put a name to it. My favourite scene has to be Burt Lancaster holding up Jack Palance's men single handedly, the ensuing cat and mouse shootout, and wonderful exchange of dialogue from their respective cover positions. But that's just one of many in this classic.

Iroquois

11-03-09, 12:14 AM

Don't even bother with the sequel Iro, it's ten times worse.

Duly noted. It still hasn't been released over here anyway - guess there's not much demand for it.

Malky

11-03-09, 08:16 AM

Up 4 Charming wee tale of adventure and self discovery i thoroughly enjoyed it

Golgot

11-04-09, 01:13 PM

http://i37.tinypic.com/2bxpms.jpg

All About Eve

Bette Davis is indeed 'a mass of music and fire', and shreds scenery with joyous aplomb. Anne Baxter gets knocked into the wings a bit, for me. Her character requires the breathy (slightly annoying) ingenue that she delivers at first, and she fills the towering cookie-cutter shape of 'Eve' with a suitably doughy glow. Later, when she gets a chance to showboat, she doesn't crackle with anything like the same intensity of Ms D though (and isn't helped by her 'stagey' tendency to emote off to the side of all concerned).

That's just one gripe really, and if I were to throw in my few others, they'd be the odd technical simplicity (the frame 'hold' at the start seems 'strained', and one back projection scene involved pedestrians outpacing our protagonists, without overtaking), plus an 'archetypal' feel to some of the characters at times (the caustic critic who cries "laugh at anyone but me" seemed a stereotype too far).

But hell, even the stereotypes are fun ultimately, and the stormy relationships that toss them about, and get tossed in turn, take centre stage very nicely indeed :)

4--

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The Darkness

Lots of potential, but bottom line is it doesn't frighten. Bean does what he's given to do competently, but it's Bello's show, and she's lumped with an unsympathetic character who's ultimately sent to a 'hellish' house depicted via gloopy paint and a heavy-handed tint.

I'm being too harsh - the later transition into Celtic myths is a good idea and works at first, but like many in the flick it seems to sabotage itself as time goes on. One particular (kinda obvious) twist is made comical by a sudden cut in the music as a protagonist runs into a door with a puzzled look on their face. Yet a subtle reveal involving a kid's favourite box makes you wish the whole thing had been handled that adroitly. Still at least the cliff settings, mythologies, and a grizzled Maurice Roeves are all good.

2_5

Sedai

11-04-09, 02:19 PM

April Fool's Day (1986, Walton)

4_5

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w23/KathySwank/April-Fools-day-movie-poster.jpg

Don't let my rating fool you, this is a bad movie. It just happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine from the 80s, and I have seen it 60 billion times. However, I had not seen this on DVD; I was stuck watching a full screen VCR tape. This was like seeing it for the first time again. I mean, all my friends were there...Chaz, Muffy, Kit, Arch, that weird guy that hangs out in the woods. It was like hitting a family reunion at which Uncle Bill was finally sober. A whole new experience. God I love AFD; you probably won't though, so don't bother!

[REC] (Balagueró, 2007)

4

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie-gallery/albums/REC/RECstill02.jpg

Great stuff. And yes, Pyro, much better than Quarantine. I still liked Quarantine, though...

Haunting in Connecticut (Cornwell, 2009)

2

http://reviews.keiranking.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/the-haunting-in-connecticut.jpg

Not very good. The kid that played the lead annoyed me in Veronica Mars, and he continues to do so here. He just has that one "disturbed look" trick in his limited acting bag of tricks. Very little actual suspense, and the film started falling back on lame Saw-style editing pretty quickly, which drives me up the wall. The film was lensed poorly and played even worse. Not to mention it rips of numerous other films pretty blatantly. Skip it.

The Strangers (Bertino, 2008)

2_5

http://moviechopshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/strangers_icon.jpg

Another weak film. This had some decent sequences, but I felt like the potential was squandered. More seriously questionable actions by characters, just to keep them in danger. Steals a ton from the original Last House on the Left, as well. I just couldn't buy into some of the ridiculous situations and oversights this film seemed to thrive on.

jrs

11-04-09, 08:31 PM

Gamer (2009) Workprint 3_5

Black Dynamite (2009) DVD Screener 3

Pyro Tramp

11-04-09, 08:45 PM

[REC] (Balagueró, 2007)

4

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie-gallery/albums/REC/RECstill02.jpg

Great stuff. And yes, Pyro, much better than Quarantine. I still liked Quarantine, though...

The Strangers (Bertino, 2008)

2_5

Steals a ton from the original Last House on the Left, as well. I just couldn't buy into some of the ridiculous situations and oversights this film seemed to thrive on.

Glad you liked it, even after seeing the remake which would have inevitably spoiled many of the scares.

42ndStreetFreak

11-04-09, 08:59 PM

Black Dynamite (2009) DVD Screener 3

Only 3? :( Not that good then?

jrs

11-04-09, 09:09 PM

Only 3? :( Not that good then?

It wasnt that noteworthy of a picture (to me at least). Sure Michael Jai White is a good actor but his character gets kind of drawn out and stale. All in all the film , plotwise is just too thin. I rather have watched Gamer twice.

B-card

11-04-09, 10:06 PM

It wasnt that noteworthy of a picture (to me at least). Sure Michael Jai White is a good actor but his character gets kind of drawn out and stale. All in all the film , plotwise is just too thin. I rather have watched Gamer twice.

haha is Gamer that worse all of my friends who like trashy pointless action movies say that they hate it

Zombieland(2009)-what a good movie I loved it,obviously the director had never seen a zombie flick before which makes it better,getting out of the stereotype and Jessy Eisenberg whom I know only from Advetureland is kind of acting the same but still I kind of like it,plus the Idea of the rules is awesome :D it cracked me up 5
http://www.moviezeal.com/wp-content/uploads/zombieland1.jpg

Jenifer's Body(2009)-Ahh what to talk about that movie except that I am dissapointed about the fact that you expect a lot of T&A and you get nothing well a little bit but still this movie was really decieving however I was really happy to see it I mean it's a movie about Megan Fox and how hot she is and nothing more don't argue about it you know I am right :D It had the best girl on girl scene ever and one of the most randoom movie lines ever when Needy stabbed Jenifer in the end,Jenifer says "My tit" and needy says "No your Hearth"
3that is movie rating 5 that is Megan fox rating

http://houseofmirthandmovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/jennifers-body-megan-fox-2.jpg

Iroquois

11-05-09, 12:47 AM

It wasnt that noteworthy of a picture (to me at least). Sure Michael Jai White is a good actor but his character gets kind of drawn out and stale. All in all the film , plotwise is just too thin. I rather have watched Gamer twice.

Quite amused by the fact that you watched a DVD Screener - this is like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a lot of the fun comes from watching it in a packed theatre, not on DVD at home or whatever. Unless of course you have mates over, of course.

But as for complaints about plot and character - do you have any real familiarity with the types of films that Black Dynamite was parodying/paying homage to? Compared to some of the films it bases itself on (e.g. Dolemite) it's actually got some decent acting and plot.

I already saw Black Dynamite at an advance screening at a film festival three months ago, and on the basis of that viewing I'd give it a 4. It's currently my favourite comedy of 2009. But yeah, to each their own.

jrs

11-05-09, 04:50 AM

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut 5

http://i37.tinypic.com/30mqsmg.jpg

42ndStreetFreak

11-05-09, 05:35 AM

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut 5

AGH! More info man.

So the film worked better in this 'Ultimate Cut' than the 'Director's Cut' with the "Black Freighter" actually IN the movie?
Or should I go with the 'DC'?

I neeeeeds to know!

jrs

11-05-09, 06:40 AM

42ndStreetFreak

11-05-09, 09:48 AM

Definitely the Ultimate cut. Having the Black Freighter "in" the movie makes it feel more like the comic...it's the true definitive version of Watchmen. And as a fan of the movie I looked forward to owning this version, and it has been worth the wait. Skip the director's cut and get the UC. You will definitely be satisfied.

My guy!! Now we're groovin 'n' grindin in step.
I like this info.
I like this definitive advice.
I shall go with this version then...and I can see the damn thing at last.
Nice one. Thanks.

spudracer

11-05-09, 10:05 AM

Drag Me to Hell - 4

While I couldn't help but think that Ash would pop out at any moment and tackle the demon, Sam Raimi's "return to horror" was entertaining, to say the least. Definitely worth watching, at least once.

TheUsualSuspect

11-05-09, 10:16 AM

I loved Drag Me To Hell.

meatwadsprite

11-05-09, 02:58 PM

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QPryh4u2z3X3vM:http://www.obscurehorror.com/ultimatum-a-la-tierra2.jpg http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:INOkLEd7XBCelM:http://jonasferry.com/images/screenshots/day-the-earth-stood-still-screenshot.jpg http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:3SD5y62H4khqJM:http://billsmovieemporium.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/earthstood.jpg

The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951

The special effects obviously haven't aged well, but I found the story and message to be just as simple. The best thing going for this movie, is that it plays the characters over the effects, neither trump the overall winding preaching story.

2

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Bolt 2008

Standard Disney fare with a bit of cleverness and some laughs. The animation gets the job done, without breaching the Pixar heights.

2

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:trp9uCWQ7R4CjM:http://pequenoscinerastas.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/stranger.jpg http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Ieb64iduImrfAM:http://www.premiere.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/review/dvd/critic-s-choice-best-dvds-of-2007/stranger-than-paradise-criterion-a-new-and-re/450129-1-eng-US/Stranger-Than-Paradise-Criterion-A-new-and-re_imagelarge.jpg http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5KAhb830neKU2M:http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/film/gallery/2008/nov/07/1/STR021AB-51.jpg

Stranger Than Paradise 1984

Patient, funny, and curious, it drew me in with it's thick-shelled character and kept me by slowly cracking them open. Although the ending is truly abrupt and cuts the story off in a lousy way.

3

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:9kXKpFMOU9Y9OM:http://www.emich.edu/studentorgs/clubdefrancais/images/%27%27The%2520Wages%2520of%2520Fear%27%27.jpg http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:i4xtkl2jhbU_CM:http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/4147/P.jpg http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:DI26k-oCpPT56M:http://www.grouchoreviews.com/content/films/3388/1.jpg

The Wages of Fear 1953

Clearly a paver for all thrillers to come. Everything is set up beautifully, but the core of the movie lies in the adventure. I was not tense or nervous for the majority of the journey, towards the end it really picks up, then another off the wall ending - although a much funnier one at that.

3.5

Pyro Tramp

11-05-09, 03:08 PM

My guy!! Now we're groovin 'n' grindin in step.
I like this info.
I like this definitive advice.
I shall go with this version then...and I can see the damn thing at last.
Nice one. Thanks.

Are we getting the UC on R2? I've only seen the DC advertised over here

42ndStreetFreak

11-05-09, 03:32 PM

Not sure....I heard we may be getting the 'UC', even though we did not get the 'DC'.
Something to do with the rights cock up and general crudhola that went on with the Production companies.

Pyro Tramp

11-05-09, 03:39 PM

The DC is being released in week or so.....

inthecornerdunce-

11-05-09, 10:50 PM

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_94wGm5Prdv0/SdBePBdiqCI/AAAAAAAABko/hgcGYYG9fW0/s400/Ace+in+the+Hole.jpg

Ace In The Hole, 1951 - This is a Kirk Douglas film from start to finish. He dominates throughout. An interesting look at human motivations and the media business that should be shown in every journalism ethics class. The music score and photography are exactly what you would expect from a Grade A studio and a director like Billy Wilder at the peak of his abilities.

WBadger

11-05-09, 10:53 PM

Muriel's Wedding, (Hogan, 1994)- C/C+

http://www.webomatica.com/images/blog/movies/muriels_wedding.jpg

So for a comedy, this one is pretty dark. It features a lonely, Abba obsessed girl who finds herself stuck in the same situations over and over again who aspires to get married. She is an interesting character, and might represent the positioning of some people in their own life in a small town. I wasn't too big on this movie but thought it was a pretty average film with few laughs. The acting from Rachel Griffiths was excellent, though. I don't know, just an alright film for me.

Stay, (Forster, 2005)- C-

http://cineleet.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/stay.jpg

I thought this movie tried to be a cool mysterious psychological thriller, but I thought it failed for the most part. I could tell all of the directions Marc Forster tried to take with a plot that was a bit of a puzzle and used many camera techniques to make it more “mysterious”. The film tries to create a tremendous build-up but then has kind of a cop-out ending and never really explained everything.
In addition to some plot issues, I thought the acting of Ewan McGregor was weak. I couldn’t really take the dude seriously while he was trying to help out a sucidal patient. Like when he would ask questions, it seemed cheesy and scripted.
Those aspects dragged the movie down a bit for me, but it had some interesting scenes and Gosling was alright, I guess.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, (1977, Spielberg)- B-

http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/mepics.nsf/view/scifi3/$File/scifi3.jpg

If there is soemthing Spielberg really dominates in his film, it's his special effects. When you think about some of his best movies, the effects are a huge factor, movies like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and now Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The whole ending sequence is incredible to watch and is really surreal, it made me feel good and to see all of those little guys crowded around was a spectacular sight.

And then you have the actual substance for the film which I thought came off as a little cheesy and fake. These are my original thoughts and I thought this film was missing something that I can't put my finger on at the moment. The early scene with the protagonist driving in his car witnessing the UFO was just not.... real? Not sure, but some of the scenes in this movie kind of took away the overall credibility to the film. I know this is a widely liked film and it won a bunch of awards, but personally, I would rank this among Spielberg's worst. Nonetheless, those are the negative aspects but this film did have some powerful visuals and some scenes that are must-see. So, it gets a decent grade from me.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, (Huston, 1948)- A

http://www.shotgunreviews.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/treasure4.jpg

Great movie here by John Huston. Didn't really see the turn in Bogart's character coming but this movie is a lot of fun. Kind of get a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid vibe from it.

Grave of the Fireflies, (Takahata, 1988)- A+

http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/janime/other/fireflies.jpg

Best animated film I have ever seen, hands down. It's powerful, emotional, joyous, and very depressing at times. It shows all of the human emotions and the struggle of a brother and sister to deal with tough situations and times of war as they lose their family. Certainly a tearjerker, but this movie is great.

Saving Private Ryan, (Spielberg, 1998)- A

http://www.seanax.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/saving-private-ryan.jpg

Most realistic war film ever? Spielberg makes it appear as so, and having met someone who was a former Army member who had to pause the movie in the middle because of how realistic the sounds of a bullet hitting humans flesh it tells a lot about the movie. Hanks is terrific (as always) but this is a movie that all war film fans have to love. Sad ending but yet another rewarding film from Spielberg.

The Shining, (Kubrick, 1980)- A+

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/images/The-shining-jack-in-maze.jpg

Best horror film, easily. Another film from Kubrick that proves a point; that horror movies can mean a whole lot more.

Miss Vicky

11-06-09, 04:00 AM

http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/65/AshantiFilmPoster1979.jpg

Ashanti (1979)

Terrible. Terrible acting, terrible cinematography, terrible plot, terrible effects, terrible soundtrack, terrible dvd transfer and a disc menu that offers two options: Play Movie and Watch Trailer. According to IMDb.com, Michael Caine considers this the the worst project he has ever done and has stated that he did it purely for the money. I've seen only a handful of Caine's films so I have a very limited amount of evidence to draw from, but I can certainly see why he hates it so much. Still, I'll be generous and give it 1.5 popcorns, if only for a few unintentionally funny moments.

1.5

42ndStreetFreak

11-06-09, 04:10 AM

I like "Ashanti" for the big budget trash it is.
Solid trashy entertainment. Shame an uncut print is now so hard to find on DVD in the UK.

undercoverlover

11-06-09, 04:21 PM

Nowhere Boy

real good, cant review it yet though

mark f

11-06-09, 08:37 PM

The Mist (Frank Darabont, 2007) 2.5

http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/images/stories/mist2.jpg

I don't know. The Mist didn't really cut it with me. I'll admit that I didn't know what to expect, but after an interesting set-up, the film seems to go on autopilot. You get the survivors of a bad storm holed up in a supermarket trying to stay away from an oncoming "mist" and what's inside it. There's a loony lady (Marcia Gay Harden) who somehow connects the military's possible ripping open a hole in space to let Lovecraftian creepy crawlies out with the end of the world in Revelation. You also get the basic hero-type guy (Thomas Jane) who's trying to protect his son while God knows what happened to his wife who was left back at home. Then the monsters show up. This basically recurs three or four times. I didn't care for the setting or the creatures, but I can accept that the film is a legit attempt to revitalize the genre. I wish it just wasn't so long and that the psychology wasn't so obvious. As far as the "shocking" ending goes, it didn't particularly move me one way or the other although I didn't quite understand why a person wouldn't wait until an eminent attack to take such drastic measures.

Tol'able David (Henry King, 1921) 2.5

http://f.hatena.ne.jp/images/fotolife/k/kinokos/20091008/20091008021910.jpg

This is a simple, yet still-entertaining silent flick about a teenager who has to come to the aid of his family after some fugitive "relatives" invade their Virginia home and wreak havoc. It's pure melodrama, but fast-paced and believable as David (Richard Barthelmess) has to grow up quickly to right the numerous wrongs being done to his Ma, Pa, older brother, stepsister, dog and cat. Yep, those rotten bums take particular glee in hurting animals. There's nothing unpredictable about the story, but it gets extra mileage by being shot on location, and Barthelmess gives a strong performance which shows how some films which are approaching 90 years of age actually had what we would consider naturalistic acting today.

Zaat (Don Barton, 1975) 0

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/5836/posterzu9.jpg

This seems to have been filmed by a group of Florida friends and family members who were "inspired" by such classics as my recently-reviewed "It's Alive!" and the Killer Turkey flick Blood Freak. As far as I can tell there is no real plot to Zaat. Some part-time scientist/underachieving bum finds a way to transform himself into a walking catfish with strong swimming powers similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He grabs various swimmers and pulls their arms and heads off (no real violence shown though). Eventually he becomes attracted to some young women frequenting the local swimmin' hole and captures them, apparently to change them into similar type creatures so that he can breed a new race to take over the world because he's pissed off about something or other. The film contains little dialogue, no psychology or acting, lots of swimming, a few bottles of window cleaner (what better way to make a mutant?), and no reason for being since it's incapable of even telling the rudiments of a story in both written and cinematic terms. However, if that's your cuppa, have at it. It's not really as fun as it sounds though.

The Call of Cthulhu (Andrew Leman, 2005) 3

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoYOJBhLlV0/SEpLescedeI/AAAAAAAAADE/zfZzPrmE3hc/s400/The.Call.Of.Cthulhu.2005.DVDRip.Xvid-RKN.avi_000345178.jpg

Here's a low-budget 47-minute flick, filmed as a silent movie with no campiness anywhere in sight. It's extremely faithful to Lovecraft's novella and it uses its budget in a positive way in almost every scene. Some of the film resembles The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in the stylized sets and cinematography, but the special effects are really a lot of fun, especially in the way the scenes shot aboard ship in the middle of the ocean are accomplished using "traditional bathtub" effects along with some thoughtful modern (decidedly-un-CGI) tweaking using lenses and distorted perspectives. I don't want to give away too much, but the film is set at about the same time that Lovecraft wrote his story, and besides being probably the best visual presentation of Lovecraft on screen, it's also very cleverly written and carries the viewer back in time through a diary and journal and even ties up everything neatly at the end so the story can move forward even after the film ends. Some of the other movies I was reminded of by watching this mini-wonder are Gunga Din and King Kong (both 1933 and 2005), and it also has a Guy Maddin vibe. I recommend you check this out if you can access it. My brother bought the DVD so that's how I saw it.

The Return of Dracula (Paul Landres, 1958) 2

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This is one of those films my brother and I would watch on weekends on local TV. We grew up on '50s horror and sci-fi flix on TV. This one is still watchable and has a scare or two but eventually peters out because it's just a bit too predictable about where it's headed, almost right from the beginning. This is basically a straight film but there are elements of camp as Count Dracula (Francis Lederer) hightails it out of Transylvania and heads to his American cousins (!!) in California. Rachel (Norma Eberhardt) is quite taken with her cousin Bellac, and this allows the film to have some fun incorporating themes from Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. Anyway, people start dying after Bellac shows, and his nemesis turns up from Europe to do battle with him again. The most-eyecatching scene in the film occurs when it temporarily turns from B&W to color during a violent scene. Otherwise, it's not terribly exciting visually but it's competent and a quick 77 minutes.

Fires Were Started aka I Was a Fireman (Humphrey Jennings, 1943) 2.5+

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Thinking about this film a bit more and the rating I give it, I get the feeling that I'm either very closed-minded, mean or just too damn hesitant to award things which are "too-different" no matter how well-done they are. Fires Were Started is a stirring and almost beautiful celebration of firefighters in England during WWII who had to fight fires caused by German bombing on a daily basis at the height of the war. Director Jennings and his crew capture them in the midst of glory and tragedy and show that the War at Home had a much bigger effect on the people in Great Britain (and Europe for that matter) than it did for us here in the U.S. mainland. Much of the footage is neorealist in nature but even more so borders on impressionistic poetry the way the image is captured, edited together and put to music. So why would I give this film only a borderline recommendation? Maybe I'm certifiable but even too much of a good thing can seem like overkill. I cannot exactly tell you what I'd excise, but it did seem a bit too long, especially compared to all the other, shorter films I watched on the same DVD. On the other hand, if I lived in England, I'd probably shoot the rating up at least one more popcorn box and maybe even more so if I started feeling nostalgic.

On Guard (Phillippe De Broca, 1997) 3.5

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De Broca has always been one of France's better "commercial" filmmakers in that he can make shimmering entertainments which have plenty of heart and depth. This one seems to almost be a reprise of his Cartouche filmed 35 years earlier. Here, Daniel Auteuil plays a fencer who loves to take on any and everyone he meets, especially if they're nobles. He crosses swords with a Duke (Vincent Perez) who initially disdains him but then befriends him when he needs an assistant for a dangerous journey he has to undertake. The Duke has just learned that he's a father and he goes to marry the mother of his child and become a family man. The problem is that disrupts the machinations of the Duke's cousin and heir (Fabrice Luchini) who now becomes a former heir and tries to stop the Duke. This is only the first third of the movie which is full of swordfights and last-second escapes, as well as plenty of tragedy. But what really separates this story is the way that Auteuil grows as a character and the almost-mysterious pull of romance which gradually infuses the second half of the film. (I'm intentionally omitting an important character in here.) When the film came to its almost magical ending, I said to myself that is such a perfect and wonderful ending but I'm having a difficult time remembering many American films which end in such a manner. Maybe the French really are just more romantic... or are there just more Dirty Old Frenchmen out there? :cool:

Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) 4.5

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I don't know exactly what else there is to say about Paths of Glory except that it's my vote for the Best War film ever made. I suppose I can say that each time I watch it, I'm amazed at how each scene plays out as its own different mini-movie. Although all the scenes build one-upon-the-other, they all seem to be shot and lit in a different manner and on different locations and sets in order to elicit different emotions. Paths of Glory is so on-target in delivering it's War is Hell and Insane message that it doesn't really seem to be stacking the deck all that much. Even in the opening scene, General Mireau (George Macready) tells General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) that an attack upon the strategic Ant Hill is impossible, but when the carrot of another star on his uniform appears, Mireau quickly changes his mind. The way Mireau walks through the trenches and gives "pep talks" to the men who later play such an important part in the film works as masterful storytelling rather than lazy coincidence. Kirk Douglas gives a superb performance as the humanistic lawyer Colonel Dax who's the only officer in the film who seems to truly care about his men, but all the performances are terrific right down to the smallest ones. At the end of the film, I always cry while the future Mrs. Kubrick sings her song in German to all the French soldiers who have one brief respite of normalcy before being sent out to do more unthinkable acts upon their fellow man.

Das Experiment (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2001) 3.5

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Based on an experiment at Stanford University in 1971, Das Experiment transports things to 2001 Germany and takes the reality of that incident to far-more brutal extremes. Basically a group of men volunteer to be in an experiment for two weeks. They will be paid after the time is up and they can quit at any time, forfeiting their pay. The experiment is that some of the men will become prisoners and some will become guards in a laboratory set up as a real prison. There are some doctors, scientists and technicians behind the scenes, supposedly running the show, but the bottom line is that there is to be no overt violence. Needless to say, things don't turn out as planned. Some of the "prisoners" seem to have ulterior motives for being involved in the experiment, and some of the "guards" turn out to resemble sadistic psychopaths. The claustrophobia of this film worked much better for me than it did in The Mist, but that may be because there is a smaller cast here and their set is also smaller. Then again, maybe it's because the scariest monsters seem to be the ones walking around among us passing themselves off as human.

Seance on a Wet Afternoon (Bryan Forbes, 1964) 3.5

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Looking at the title, you'd probably expect a horror flick, and although it's a psychological suspense thriller, there really doesn't seem to be anything supernatural going on, at least depending on how you interpret the three seances in the film. Kim Stanley is brilliant as psychic Myra who concocts a scheme to become famous by getting her husband Billy (Richard Attenborough) to kidnap the daughter of a rich family. Myra will then volunteer herself to the family and solve the crime. As you can see, Myra isn't exactly all there, and she seems to be getting crazier the more she convinces herself that she's an honest-to-God medium who uses her son (who died at birth) as her contact during her seances. In fact, Myra is now listening to her dead son who says he'd like the little girl to "stay with him", so maybe she'll become famous no matter how the kidnapping turns out. Attenborough has to do most of the heavy lifting as the actual kidnapper and the guy who picks up the ransom while Stanley has the showier part and delivers the goods without going off the deep end. As a nice touch, Patrick Magee shows near the end as a Police Superintendent who fancies himself as an expert on the paranormal and asks Myra to perform one more seance to help him catch the kidnappers.

Son of Sinbad (Ted Tetzlaff, 1955) 2

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Incredibly fake, stilted adventure flick which compensates for its utter ridiculousness by having Vincent Price as a fun Omar Khayyam providing the wooden Son of Sinbad (Dale Robertson) with all his best lines, even if Junior is horrid at reading them. Another BIG bonus is that the cast is made up mostly of gorgeous women, and there are a lot of them. Here in fact, Ali Baba's 40 thieves turn out to be all sexy babes and that one dance, ooh la la.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HveU4IYXssg
Brought to you by Howard Hughes who gave you Jean Harlow in Hell's Angels and Jane Russell in The Outlaw. :)

42ndStreetFreak

11-06-09, 08:40 PM

"Tooth and Nail" - 1.5

Hmmm....
A barmy post-apocalyptic plot that has all civilisation virtually destroyed in no time at all because the electricity has run out.
This sudden lack of lack of twinkly lights, PC's, DVD players and HBO is so bad that many humans turn to cannibalism (despite there being rather a lot of animals in the world) and as the survivors try to stay survivors...these cannibal sorts roam around picking them off one by one.

After an effective enough start the tiny budget starts to show, the silly script starts to scream at you about how silly it is and the few good bits in the film start to drown in the rising boredom and general ho humness now swamping all before it.

Despite Michael Madsen playing one of the cannibals he actually appears in only 2 scenes and then without the other cannibals.
Vinnie Jones also appears in only 4 or so scenes and again, he is either alone or with only one other cannibal chum.
Obviously this was because the budget only stretched to having these guys there for one day or so.
Jones is hammy rubbish, Madsen is...er...Madsen again and is soon dispatched in a crappy way.

The fact the cannibals (to keep the meat fresh!) only kill one person at a time adds a certain sadism to the proceedings as those left at the end of a particular grocery trip know they will have to go through it all again the next night when the ribs have all been eaten.
But this methodical way of doing things also means that a dull repetitiveness sets in, not helped by some bad acting and small scale of the set-pieces as it's almost all set in a few deserted rooms and corridors with only 2 or 3 people on ever on screen.

Gore wise it starts off very well with a nasty throat slicing and an exceedingly sadistic axe attack (with Madsen enjoying himself!), but after that there is very little gore and little real bloodshed.

A late twist is also ineffective as quite frankly it seemed blindingly obvious ages ago, so the film is playing catch-up to its audience which is never good.
A weak finale rounds things off badly.

Could have been okay...ended up not.

"The Invisible Man" (1933) - 3.5

Universal's groovy, pretty faithful, adaptation of HG Wells' story of the same name still holds up on many levels.

The FX are still damn good and effective, with no wires on show for the many moving objects, and the clever (and damn hard) invisible man effects are also fine...with the Black and White cinematography ensuring that the ancient matte work looks great thanks to none of those typically awful colour problems.
Hell , look at the truly dire matted Alien FX (a green hued blob on a wall more like) in "Alien 3" to see how even decades later colour problems could ruin many a matte shot.

Away from the great FX we have a fast pace, some great sets, a brilliant support cast of whacked out and theatrical local yokels (with the great Una O'Connor in top camped up form as the shrieking landlady and a top 'comedy cop' performance by E.E. Clive) and a wonderfully mixed brew of slapstick comedy, black comedy and out and out nastiness.

And it is Claude Rains who superbly utilises this mix of horror and humour.
Wrapped in bandages or quite simply not there at all Rains has only his commanding voice to make an impression. And he does.
His psychotic rants, mad cackling and comic singing as he causes mayhem all help to essay one of the most whacked out and downright nasty characters in any film ever.
Something I think people tend to forget.

Today, we mostly think of an invisible man as a purely comical creation or a good guy figure.
Add this to the fact that a man you simply can't see is somehow not as scary or visually impressive as a werewolf, vampire or man-made monster and the character has been rather pushed aside when we talk about great screen villains and threats.
But in reality...The Invisible Man is by far the most deadly figure in any 'Universal' horror film!
A couple of dead yokels or local wenches? Small fry!
Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster are novices in death dealing!
The Invisible Man racks up a body count of...wait for it...122!
By the time he has bashed in heads, rung necks, pushed people of cliffs, sent a man (who screams in a genuinely unsettling way) crashing to his death in a runaway car as well as derailed a damn train...he's bumped of 122 human beings!
As such there is real sadism in the film, as the laughing killer routinely kills people with psychotic glee.

A few plot hiccups (a guy is murdered and next we see that the national press is reporting the murder in blazing newspaper headlines and yet the scene of the body being carried out of the room comes after this press coverage! Must have started to smell a bit!) fail to hurt the film to any degree and in fact the great dialogue given to the Invisible Man is so memorable it bulldozes everything else out of the way.

The embracing of the violence and mass death that is constantly on occurring, when added to the great FX, wonderful cast and generally effective black comic styling, ensures that "The Invisible Man" has dated less than many other 'Universal' horror films and still retains a genuinely horrific edge.