Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Crimson Peak offers the viewer gorgeous visuals, a creepy atmosphere and good performances from most of the cast, yet it fails to deliver any scares, thrills or genuine excitement. Guillermo del Toro might have to try being a cinematographer for a few films instead because Crimson Peak falters the same way his other films do. I should like Crimson Peak a lot more than I do, this is my relationship with all his films.

The film suffers from numerous things, but one that pops out to be is the bait and switch it gives the viewer. When one thinks of Crimson Peak, a gothic ghost story comes to mind. This simply is not the case here. Yes, ghosts are present in the film, yes they do "some" haunting, but that aspect of the film is not del Toro's focus. Instead he would rather have the story be about Chastain and Hiddleston, who plays brother and sister and live in Crimson Peak and their ulterior motives to why he should marry Wasikowska. Interesting at first, but the completely fails to live up to the expectations. Especially when characters do things out of character for thinly realized reasons. The bait and switch, tells viewers what to expect and deliver something else. We've seen this before...I'm looking at you Adjustment Bureau.

Wasikowska's the lead and I'm not sure if I just don't like her as an actress or if all her performances are the same. Ever since I saw her wooden performance in Alice, she has yet to impress or even really change up a character. Chastain and Hiddleston offer something interesting at least, then again they more experienced than Wasikowska. They both fir perfectly in this world.

But damn, does this film look great. The cinematography, the art direction, costume design, set design. These are always the highlights in del Toro films and Crimson Peak might be his best yet. The house bleeds red clay for crying out loud, a small detail that you see in the corners of the frame. Something only del Toro would do, which beautifully adds to the world he creates here. Crimson Peak, great title and great location. Too bad it takes half the film's running time to get there.

Del Toro's homage to the gothic hammer classics is something to admire I guess. I just wish he injected the story with more scares, more excitement and something a little more interesting. Some surprise shock and violence isn't enough here. Crimson Peak has a lot to offer and falls short on many of them.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Marty (1955)





Really honest story with a great performance from Borgnine.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

Rear Window (1954)

Just as I remembered it from decades ago on TV, except nicely remastered and without commercials. I needed two nights to finish it. With all the scenes of Jefferies dozing off, I began dozing off. Not a reflection on the film, I was just tired. It's been so long since I watched it that one time on TV, that it didn't really feel like I was watching it again. I kept trying to remember how he ends up with 2 casts. Very enjoyable experience.

In the Realm of Senses

Arthouse porn. Kind of. Certainly explicit enough, but if you just want to jerk off, just watch porn. Although the libido's in this flick are just as preposterous as a porno flicks. The story itself however is fine, and based on actual events. Even the very last thing the main female protagonist does with her now dead lover.






Vulgar, vile, poor taste, and offensive. I LOVED IT! It is certainly worth the price of admission and a laugh riot. The movie also has some very obvious commentary to the Middle East situation and religion. But it also has talking sausages, buns, bath salts, and is very self aware. If you love offensive humor you will enjoy it.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

In the Realm of Senses is a lovely film to watch with a girl on a first date & eat some fungus.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Hitler's Children (1943)



"This lurid exposé of the Hitler Youth follows the woes of an American girl declared legally German by the Nazi government."

I kept wanting to call this "Young Nazis in Love" as a young Nazi officer is in love with the German-born American girl who is forcibly entered into a Nazi youth program. Some of the acting is very stiff in the beginning of this film.

TCM called this an "exploitation" film. And it is anti-Nazi propaganda, but what is wrong with anything anti-Nazi? Nothing.
Kind of interesting that such a detailed look into the Hitler Youth programs would be made into a film right in the middle of the war (but then the author of the book on which the film was based fled Nazi Germany and brought with him info on the Reich's education system - so "straight from the horse's mouth" as it were).
I was drawn in by the second half and despite the film's overall flatness, there are a couple small outstanding performances.

Most interesting tidbit: Hans Conried (known for his comical roles in movies & TV) plays a dead serious Nazi doctor who orders sterilizations! And he is the voice of Hitler heard in English in the movie!

For those interested in WWII history and Nazi stuff, I give this a 4 of 5.
As general film entertainment for anyone not interested in Nazi stuff, I give it a 3 of 5.

Hitler's Children (1943)...that goes onto my watch list!

Excellent. But give it a chance because it seems kind of sappy (corny? cheesy? bad acting?) at first, but gets better as it progresses. It gradually leaves the sappiness behind and doesn't end up pulling any punches. I watched it in two parts - I enjoyed the second half!

Five strangers - newlywed serial killers, a suicidal cop, and two runaways - become suspect and victim when a masked murderer makes its presence known in an isolated mountain town

4/5

Kubo and the Two Strings -

It's good.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

One of my most anticipated films this year.

I didn't even know - or perhaps I forgot - it was coming out until a few months ago. Can't wait to watch it. I'm a huge fan and admire of stop-motion animation and I'm thankful that Laika is still holding on to it.

Odd Thomas (2013)


Much better than expected. Easy to watch and entertaining.


+

The Stranger (1946)
Entertaining enough.

In the style of ABC's of Death, Holidays takes a stab at the horror anthology genre, this time the gimmick is...you guessed it, Holidays.

The big ones are used, Christmas, Easter, Halloween...but then we get a St. Patrick's Day, which is odd because I'm not so sure that is considered a "Holiday". What makes things weirder is the fact that Thanksgiving is missing. I really liked St. Patrick's Day, until the absurd ending, but it's an interesting note on the film.

As a lot of anthologies do, this one suffers from the unevenness of the shorts. Some are wildly original and creepy, Easter, others a pathetically inept, Halloween. That later short, Halloween is directed by Kevin Smith, yes, Kevin Smith. He's on his horror fad right now and he misfires completely here. He casts his daughter and other girls as cam girls who have had enough with the poor treatment they are receiving from their 'boss'. So they force him to mutilate himself before taking over the business themselves. The horror element dives into the "torture porn" sub-genre, but it is pathetically weak, not funny and somewhat insultingly lazy. Compared to the Easter short by Nicholas McCarthy who directed the horror film The Pact, where he blends the Easter Bunny with Jesus to make a creepy horror hybrid of terror.

Seth Green and his wife star in the Christmas short about the truths behind people's worst desires and evil doings. Mother's Day focuses on a pregnant woman with a coven of witches and Father's Day is one of the more obtuse and out there films. Well directed and paced, but doesn't deliver on the ending. Then you have Valentine's Day which has predictable results and New Year's Eve, which was somewhat fun. It's all a mixed bag.

If you're into the anthology horror series, give it a shot. It's on the lesser side of things like ABC's of Death or V/H/S.

Typical Iro review.

City on Fire
09/10

Straw Dogs (1971) (Dir. Sam Peckinpah)


Sam Peckinpah's A Series of Unfortunate Events uses the guise of a nuanced marital drama as a front for an exercise in transgressive cinema. Per the Wikipedia page, its release alongside of Clockwork Orange and several other landmark releases spurred controversy over the increasing violence in cinema. Fresh off of a bad experience with the studio system, I imagine Peckinpah created this to reclaim his creative freedom with a big "**** you" to mainstream sensibilities.

Straw Dogs follows a traditional hero, his sympathetic relationship, and the tragedy befalling them. Its most interesting indulgence in deviance lies in its portrayal of rape, presented as a murky ethical dilemma for both the victim and the culprit. Much like the film itself, this sequence regrettably wanders from an interesting conflict into the territory of absurd provocation. This is compounded by a wholly unrelated series of contrived events that conveniently sets the third act into motion. As far as home invasion pictures go, I'd consider this well crafted horror more than a thoughtful drama, and there's nothing wrong with that.

http://boxd.it/aTPph

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