2019 - A Theme for Every Month

Gave House Of 1000 Corpses a run out so that our very own cute 'n' cuddly Captain Spaulding could say he did actually participate in proceedings this month after all It's a reasonably fun watch that has some nice sets and design work with a cast that obviously enjoyed the making of. Sadly though it's also not that cohesive a work and one that suffers from overuse of visual effects which imo fail to add much to proceedings (other than to draw out the runtime). +

Decided Cap might as well double his involvement so I put The Devil's Rejects in this afternoon. Unfortunately despite being a better presented offering, for me it's for the most part actually less enjoyable than the predecessor - being rather sporadic and proceedings only really bursting to life with an intensity worthy of the plethora of sick, twisted individuals at its core with about twenty minutes or so remaining. Sadly, whilst those scenes are far more enjoyable they also highlight how much better the whole could have been were it not devoting so much of it's energy to primarily trying to shock or offend up to that point.

Just finished watching..

__________________
Entertainment Log
Letterboxd profile

Cheers for contributing once again John-Connor , hopefully now the Horror countdown is approaching its climax and a sci-fi HOF about to get underway a few others might also post about a watch.

Sci-horror very much in the same vein as Ridley Scott's Alien that has its strengths but despite being only a quarter hour shorter in duration than that classic only manages about a quarter of the flesh on its bones by comparison.

The main strength of the film is its visuals, the sense of being aboard a vessel in space is well enough managed (both internally and externally) whilst the alien life form is also reasonably well rendered and develops fairly nicely even if somewhat predictably. Unfortunately though, whilst that life form would be truly terrifying in real life, on screen it just doesn't really convey that level of threat (one could even say it comes across as a damp squib) and whilst the film does admittedly manage occasional pockets of tension it never gets close to reaching any sort of fever pitch. It isn't all good visually though - imo the choice to portray the world at times as viewed by the life form is not only poorly done but a misstep as it temporarily breaks any connection between the viewer and the crew.

The international cast also doesn't help, it may very well be in keeping with the setting (the International Space Station) but also results in the dialogue not flowing particularly well at times. The biggest negative though is the screenplay, it just doesn't hold up to scrutiny in places and is sloppy enough to feel it would definitely have benefitted from another couple of drafts (and perhaps a new perspective giving it the once over).

Life was always going to struggle by drawing comparison to one of the all-time greats of the sci-horror genre but really does itself no favours by not being given the care and attention such a venture requires and for me that's irritating enough to sadly only make it worthy of a +

I tried watching Life for the horror countdown, but after a while it just got too graphic for me and I turned it off.

__________________
.
If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

Yeah, it's a bit graphic in places for your taste Gbg. Funny thing is you may well have already watched some of the worst of it before you decided enough was enough.

I have the movie on DVD if I ever decide to go back and watch the rest of the movie, but sadly it doesn't sound like it's worth wasting my time with it anyway.

Well, to be fair to it there are certainly worse movies out there and parts of it are decent enough but it definitely has its flaws and for me the overriding feeling at the end was one of disappointment as the premise is one I'll always find of interest.

Watched Cargo from 2009 this afternoon, as a sci-thriller it manages to generate some nice atmosphere and a decent enough level of intrigue in what is a quite nicely paced first half but doesn't really offer anything new and the final act could have done with a little more restraint imo. +

Cold War sci-thriller that's certainly not without flaws and possibly not for the majority of today's audience but is very much the type of sci-fi that I grew up and fell in love with and so for me is hugely enjoyable.

Compared to the effects-laden movies made today this film would most likely be regarded as rather mundane and lacking by many, but for me it's a fairly well paced and presented piece that utilises some quite beautiful sets and design work. Sure the zeitgeist of the period with regards post WW II US/Russian relations is presented rather simplistically - both being far too easily coerced into working together and a noticeable scarcity of the innate distrust that actually permeated the times - but the paranoia of the early days of man beginning to become more reliant on machines, and the potential ceding of control that naturally entails, is quite nicely played upon and developed imo.

As alluded to earlier there are no major special effects on view but proceedings are not without occasional pockets of tension and whilst none of the performances are awards-worthy the leads and support are generally decent enough for what is realistically no more than a B-Movie. On the whole though I suspect enjoyment would depend largely on how much of interest the tale is thematically, and for me that interest level is high even if there may be the odd hole in the plot.

Colossus: The Forbin Project is not an offering that would ever set the world of film alight - in fact there's nothing much to set it apart from plenty of other sci-fi movies of the period, but it's a theme that interests with an aesthetic that pleases me and as such I'm happy to give it a +

Finally gave Terminator Genisys a try today. Have to admit I could probably watch just about anything in which Emilia Clarke shows a fair amount of flesh but whilst proceedings may contain the odd fun moment/sequence there's far too much 'dull' between them, some of the performances feel rather flat (including Ms. Clarke) and the tale is ridiculously overly convoluted imo. Personally I'll just continue to pretend the franchise stopped after the first two entries. +

Dystopian blend of survival horror and coming-of-age drama that's presented quite nicely to provide a reasonably absorbing and quite enjoyable watch.

Whilst there's certainly nothing on show here that hasn't been seen in various other guises the central premise of some sort of apocalyptic event and ensuing tale of survival is one that's generally of interest to me and the majority is executed well enough imo. Even with some decent support young actress Sennia Nanua is asked to carry a fair amount of proceedings on her shoulders in what is her first feature role, and generally she does remarkably well in a role that is pivotal to the film's success.

Proceedings are for the most part paced quite nicely with decent effects and even though the score does contain its share of long sonorous notes (that I think are all too often overused or misused these days) they are mostly used to good effect (ie. not always in isolation) and when needed it's actually quite effective in helping create pockets of tension/suspense.

The film is not without its weaknesses though - some of the plot elements don't really hold up to scrutiny, a fight scene between youngsters is not particularly well enacted, the small touches of light-heartedness felt unnecessary or out of place to me and the ending is both rather pat and weak imo.

The Girl With All The Gifts starts a little slowly but is a fun enough ride once the survival tale begins and even if it does feel like it rushes a little in the closing stages towards it's conclusion I'm happy enough to give it a reasonably solid +

Gave Luke Scott's Morgan a spin today and whilst the concept is one that will always be of interest to me sadly it never really attempts to do anything original with it, opting instead to go down the route of a standard sci-fi action/thriller. Both the score and editing frustrated slightly at times in what is for the most part a fairly mediocre presentation and it's not a particularly strongly written piece in terms of either plot or characters ... but for me the biggest annoyance was in being able to second guess the ending fairly early on in proceedings. .

Gave Code 46 a run-out and whilst overall I find it a reasonably enjoyable watch that's acted well enough by both leads (never hurts to have Samantha Morton in the cast imo) in an understated affair that always reminds me a little of Blade Runner in tone, I do find the score hugely intrusive at times and the tale just feels a little lacking in either depth or impact.

Just watched the live-action Ghost In The Shell, never having never seen the anime, and thought it was a reasonably enjoyable sci-fi action thriller that possibly could have done with leading into the tale a bit better and aesthetically is rather derivative but the story is decent and certainly some of the effects were nicely managed (somewhat laughable though that the built world is supposedly so technically capable yet the finale involves something that looks like a remnant from Robot Wars).

Watched The Survivalist today, quite nicely shot and acted and though slowly paced could have been reasonably immersive if only the tale had been far better written than it is. There's just far too much that doesn't feel authentic (from character interactions to the almost complete lack of either defensive arrangements or practised escape route) and any twists and turns in the story are rather predictable. What annoyed me most though was an eye-rolling event fairly early in proceedings that might be suitable to an offering involving the supernatural but imo felt completely out of place in a dystopian piece supposedly set in the real world.

Popped Alien: Covenant in the player for a first viewing this afternoon and it's one I feel somewhat conflicted over tbh. The earlier scenes were pretty disappointing with the look and feel of an offering with a far lesser budget and much of what made the original such a classic was missing - the characters were fairly generic with no effort to build any connection to the audience, the early action scenes were staged with little to no suspense and for me there was just no sense of awe at all. Thankfully, aside from a level of pomposity in terms of the script, once David turned up things improve for the better on all those fronts and the latter scenes are far more deserving of being part of the Alien franchise imo. +

Happy to see you gave my movies a spin so that I was at least able to participate in last month's theme in spirit if not in person. House of 1000 Corpses is a messy, disjointed flick, as it feels like Rob Zombie tried to cram everything he ever wanted to see in a horror film into one picture, but it's a fun, somewhat cartoonish, manic ride. I don't mind the music-video style behind his visual effects. Some of those effects work well, others are overkill, but the throw-everything-at-the-screen approach is somewhat endearing to me. You can tell Zombie loves the genre and has envisioned many of those camera angles and visual flourishes long before he got a chance to step into the director's chair.

Of the two films, I'm a much bigger fan of The Devil's Rejects. It's Zombie's Texas Chain Saw Massacre to House of 1000 Corpses's Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Give me raw, stripped-down sadism with an Americana, road-movie feel over the campy stay at a f**ked-up funhouse. I think a viewer's enjoyment of The Devil's Rejects ultimately comes down to whether or not they can "root" for a family of murderous psychopaths. The scenes at the run-down motel exemplify their evilness, and yet they still share a relatable familial bond, looking out for one another, bickering like typical siblings over meaningless stuff like ice-cream, trading barbs that are wrapped in the cotton of love. There's something about f**ked-up family dynamics that just appeals to me. It's the same reason I enjoy the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. The Devil's Rejects also boasts one of my favorite soundtracks, and the movie's neo-grindhouse aesthetic/attitude felt original to me at the time since I'd yet to even dip my toes into all that 70's goodness. In that sense, the movie was sorta my gateway drug into exploitation.

I didn't think much of Midnight Meat Train, and that sickly, washed-out color palette didn't help matters, but several people whose opinions I respect seem to think favorably of it, so I'm willing to give it another chance someday. I found The Shallows a bit dull and stupid (but not stupid in a ridiculous, over-the-top way that results in mindless entertainment, but rather a roll-your-eyes-in-annoyance stupidity). Many people find Blake Lively gorgeous, but she doesn't really do much for me. I'm sure if you swapped her out for an actress who did a better job filling out a bikini that I would've been much more forgiving of the movie's flaws.

I don't really have much to say about your futuristic watches. Life didn't have a single original chromosome. I hated Morgan and Terminator Genisys. Ghost in the Shell was okay but it hasn't stuck with me. Same goes for Alien: Covenant. I agree that David provided the most compelling moments in the film.

I failed you during Aaarrrggghhhpril, and I make no promises going forward, but I have several musicals on my DVR that I've been saving for next month's theme. Maybe I'll join you for a few tap-dance duets. You can be the Ginger Rogers to my Fred Astaire. Or vice-versa, depending on which of us looks most glamorous in a dress.

__________________