Outside the Box - PHOENIX's Top 100 Not Quite Obscure Films

→ in
Tools    
Page 11 of 13
« First101112Last »




Wooley's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Victim of The Night
11-27-23
Originally Posted by PHOENIX74
57

HIGH TENSION (2003)
Aka : Haute tension

Director : Alexandre Aja


Looks like a lot of my favourite horror movies are clustered together here - and oh boy, this one is a doozy. Haute tension goes a little nuts - but often that's just what I need in a film that's so fond of blood, body parts, decapitations and various other squishy things. Don't get hung up over whether it makes sense or not (would we take such care to consider the events in Bad Taste?) - this isn't that kind of movie for me. It's a bloody celebration of the craziest of exploitation and horror - a murderthon that careens around like a mental patient not quite in her straightjacket, and as such is a fountain of extremity and fast-paced movement. Speed and tension are the orders of the day - and madness prevails in this French horror movie that tops just about all others from that nation. If it's a little too well known, I'll add The Ordeal (Calvaire) as an equally crazy French horror movie - a bonus honorable mention that has also seemingly lost it's mind. Sometimes a movie simply has to.
And... finally someone I agree with about this movie!



Takoma11's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Registered User
11-27-23
Originally Posted by SpelingError
#istandwithWooley
Do you? Or do you
WARNING: spoilers below
think you stand with him, but then in the last minutes it turns out that not only are you not standing with him, you haven't been the whole time, and also retroactively 85% of your opinions no longer make sense?
.

Just curious.



SpelingError's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
AKA Popcorn Reviews
11-27-23
Originally Posted by Takoma11
Do you? Or do you
WARNING: spoilers below
think you stand with him, but then in the last minutes it turns out that not only are you not standing with him, you haven't been the whole time, and also retroactively 85% of your opinions no longer make sense?
.

Just curious.
https://giphy.com/clips/mousestopmo-...Nfcyi7eFB6LQdd



Wooley's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Victim of The Night
11-27-23
Originally Posted by Takoma11
Do you? Or do you
WARNING: spoilers below
think you stand with him, but then in the last minutes it turns out that not only are you not standing with him, you haven't been the whole time, and also retroactively 85% of your opinions no longer make sense?
.

Just curious.
The ending of that movie never bothered me. I thought about it for a minute or two and then just thought, "Did you enjoy the ride? Then let it go."



crumbsroom's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Registered User
11-27-23
I think the question we ask in regards to Haut Tension is 'do you care that it makes no sense?'. If not, than there is nothing to argue...enjoy, no need to get into any of the...Wait?? Some people think it makes sense???


errrrrrrrrr.....



Takoma11's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Registered User
11-27-23
Originally Posted by Wooley
The ending of that movie never bothered me. I thought about it for a minute or two and then just thought, "Did you enjoy the ride? Then let it go."
I mean, some people aren't as adherent to narrative coherence and really want good imagery and vibes.
.
.
.
.
And those people are wrong and should feel bad.



Thief's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Master of None
11-27-23
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19
I’m on Team Takoma on the dislike for High Tension
Team Takoma as well
__________________
Check out my podcast: The Movie Loot!



PHOENIX74's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
I forgot the opening line.
11-27-23
All the sudden I got me a hankerin' to watch Haute tension tonight.
__________________
Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.

Latest Review : Before the Rain (1994)



Takoma11's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Registered User
11-27-23
Originally Posted by PHOENIX74
All the sudden I got me a hankerin' to watch Haute tension tonight.
I am now on Team Crumbsroom Compromise.

If you want to enjoy High Tension, but concede that it makes no sense . . .




PHOENIX74's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
I forgot the opening line.
11-27-23
If Haute tension were a person, you'd realise after a while that they are completely, irrevocably insane - but you'd also want to hang out with them again (and again after that.) For me it falls into a category that includes films like Monty Python and the Holy Grail - no need to make sense, as I'm enjoying it for the pure madness itself.



PHOENIX74's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
I forgot the opening line.
11-27-23
✿༺ 7 ༻✿

HIGH NOON (1952)

Director : Fred Zinnemann


I've checked and double-checked - High Noon is on neither the IMDb or Letterboxd Top 250. What can I say about it? It transcends it's genre, and although it has a clear-cut hero and clear-cut villains the film is mainly about those apart from Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) and Miller's (Ian MacDonald) gang. Yeah - I mean, that foreground exercise is good enough by itself, but what the film is saying at the time it's saying it - with the bulk of townsfolk happy enough to sit idly by and allow evil to have it's way as long as it concerns no risk to themselves - is brilliant. Did one of the greatest westerns ever made just make a comment on McCarthyism? It's greater than that, and means something to every generation who sees it. Even now, people have to decide who they are - sitting by and doing nothing, hoping to just get by without any possible harm that might come to them - is wrong. Speak out. Take action. Do what you think is right. But like I said - I enjoy this in it's simpler form just as much - like a giddy schoolkid. What a great movie. Seeing this for the first time was my introduction to Gary Cooper, and I immediately understood how his screen presence must have felt back then. This was obviously a famous movie (I knew about it long before I saw it) but it should be seen by movie lovers of all ages and generations. One of the true greats - I'm flabbergasted about the fact it's not cracking the Top 250 of those websites. Below is 2 minutes of pure cinematic delight...


Well, I have to pull out something interesting as an honorable mention when I include a movie as famous and well-known as that. What I decided on was a remake of High Noon, set in space, with Sean Connery as Marshal Will Ka Marshal William T. O'Niel. Yes, Outland is High Noon in space, and a surprisingly enjoyable version of High Noon at that. A space western that came out in 1981 but didn't initially draw the crowds in, it has all the hallmarks of a cult classic in the making. I'm one of it's fans, and I'm always ready to spruik it's various assets and merits. A very realistic depiction of what an outpost would be like in space, and how it relates to the outposts of the old west - which I find fascinating as well.

7.5

OUTLAND (1981)

Director : Peter Hyams




Takoma11's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Registered User
11-28-23
I'm sort of intrigued by Outland, but I can't stand Sean Connery, so it's one I always pass on.

Not at all the vibe of High Noon, but Prospect is currently my favorite "space as wild frontier" movie.



Wooley's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Victim of The Night
11-28-23
Originally Posted by PHOENIX74
✿༺ 7 ༻✿

HIGH NOON (1952)

Director : Fred Zinnemann


I've checked and double-checked - High Noon is on neither the IMDb or Letterboxd Top 250. What can I say about it? It transcends it's genre, and although it has a clear-cut hero and clear-cut villains the film is mainly about those apart from Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) and Miller's (Ian MacDonald) gang. Yeah - I mean, that foreground exercise is good enough by itself, but what the film is saying at the time it's saying it - with the bulk of townsfolk happy enough to sit idly by and allow evil to have it's way as long as it concerns no risk to themselves - is brilliant. Did one of the greatest westerns ever made just make a comment on McCarthyism? It's greater than that, and means something to every generation who sees it. Even now, people have to decide who they are - sitting by and doing nothing, hoping to just get by without any possible harm that might come to them - is wrong. Speak out. Take action. Do what you think is right. But like I said - I enjoy this in it's simpler form just as much - like a giddy schoolkid. What a great movie. Seeing this for the first time was my introduction to Gary Cooper, and I immediately understood how his screen presence must have felt back then. This was obviously a famous movie (I knew about it long before I saw it) but it should be seen by movie lovers of all ages and generations. One of the true greats - I'm flabbergasted about the fact it's not cracking the Top 250 of those websites. Below is 2 minutes of pure cinematic delight...


Well, I have to pull out something interesting as an honorable mention when I include a movie as famous and well-known as that. What I decided on was a remake of High Noon, set in space, with Sean Connery as Marshal Will Ka Marshal William T. O'Niel. Yes, Outland is High Noon in space, and a surprisingly enjoyable version of High Noon at that. A space western that came out in 1981 but didn't initially draw the crowds in, it has all the hallmarks of a cult classic in the making. I'm one of it's fans, and I'm always ready to spruik it's various assets and merits. A very realistic depiction of what an outpost would be like in space, and how it relates to the outposts of the old west - which I find fascinating as well.

[/center]
Another big winner. You aight!



Wooley's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Victim of The Night
11-28-23
Originally Posted by PHOENIX74
50

FLASH GORDON (1980)

Director : Mike Hodges


No film is as beautifully camp and silly as Flash Gordon, with the emphasis on the "Flash" as this romp just throws all the switches up to 10 and brings in Queen of all bands to squeal guitar riffs and scream in a frantic frenzy. In the meantime, to aid complete non-actor Sam J. Jones (a gloriously misguided bit of casting) some of the greatest thespians alive at the time are brought in to mix the worst with the best. Max von Sydow, Topol, Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato and Brian Blessed raise the average brilliance somewhat, which makes the casting of Jones even more incongruent. All the same, I love this movie. If you're going to make a Flash Gordon flick, then why not go to town like this production does - it's simply freakin' beautiful in tone, look, sound and soul. Most films like this I liked less as I got older and became more refined in taste, but Flash Gordon I liked even more, and more, and more - and that increase in affection and love is still increasing as the years pass by. To find something as silly but wonderful for an honorable mention, I came up with Hobo With a Shotgun, which belongs up here as well - a great homage that, and much loved by me as well. As I've said on Letterboxd : "When it comes to exploitation films that reference or pay homage to the most crazy and graphic of the 80s offerings, Hobo With a Shotgun is probably the best of all of them."
Yeah, you're definitely my kinda people.



Wooley's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Victim of The Night
11-28-23
Originally Posted by PHOENIX74
- 13 -

THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1980)

Director : John Mackenzie


The Long Good Friday is simply one of the best crime flicks ever made. Full of moments that tell you a lot about the characters in it through a look, body language and action. Bob Hoskins is fantastic here as boss Harold Shand - suddenly at war with a force that he grossly underestimates, but nevertheless takes on with gusto. Helen Mirren is great also as girlfriend Victoria - involved as something of an equal. It has a blast of an ending - one of the all-time great final scenes. I love it to bits - I really do. It's an outstanding film and will always be high up on my list no matter what - anyone who hasn't seen it should probably rectify that as soon as they can, especially if they like the genre, although this film's excellence shines through whether or not you like these type of crime films. Love love love it. As an honorable mention we have a The Conformist - directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, it's more political than crime film - but this film needed a spot and this is the closest match, so here it is.
Oh man. You're just killin' me.

Page 11 of 13
« First101112Last »