What Films Have You Seen Recently? - Page 2156

trebor8273 · #**21551** 26th March 2013, 06:43 PM

Just startd deadly blessing witch I've never seen, isn't the husband the guy who was in the fall guy?

Edit
Yes it is now back to the film

Delirium · #**21552** 26th March 2013, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebor8273

Just startd deadly blessing witch I've never seen, isn't the husband the guy who was in the fall guy?

We will tell you after you've watched the film, as long as you promise to give it your undivided attention.

jiraffejustin · #**21553** 26th March 2013, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I didn't notice the year was in the original post! The original is better than Haneke's American remake, which just seemed pointless.

I haven't seen the American remake, and honestly, I probably won't. While the original one is really good, Haneke has stated that he thought the story was an American story. Which would explain why he chose to remake it in America.

SShaw · #**21554** 26th March 2013, 07:33 PM

Today I watched Westworld which I think is great. Much better than the unacknowledged re-make (Jurassic Park)which is basically a riff on the same plot.

trebor8273 · #**21555** 26th March 2013, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SShaw

Today I watched Westworld which I think is great. Much better than the unacknowledged re-make (Jurassic Park)which is basically a riff on the same plot.

Can really say its a rip off as they where both writing by the same person Michael Crichton

Edit

Sorry you didn't say rip off, we really need a option to delete posts

Frankie Teardrop · #**21556** 27th March 2013, 12:12 AM

CHERRY FALLS - Finally got around to watching this after clocking its several positive notices around here. I really enjoyed it, and, although superficially it has that late ninties / early noughties 'horror-lite' (or, to be lazy, 'post-Scream') feel to it, it's actually quite subversive on some levels. Maybe I'm easily amused, but the idea of a bunch of high school seniors organising an orgy in order to avoid being offed by a virginity-fixated killer strikes me as hilarious. This aside, the film's back story is pretty forlorn, and some scenes, like the one in the putative killer's run-down house, really creeped me out and linger on in my mind.

THE LAST BROADCAST - Well known as the forerunner of 'Blair Witch'. It looks really cheap and is a bit clunky in some respects (ie. the 'twist' at the end), but, although it doesn't reach the heights of near hysteria scaled by BWP, I think it succeeds in building an atmosphere of impending near dread, particularly in the latter part of the film (ending notwithstanding). Maybe there's something about the format which lends itself to that doom laden feeling of imminence. Beyond this, there are some interesting but unresolved ideas about construction of 'reality' / perception by the media, and, again on a conceptual level, it at least takes up the baton from 'Cannibal Holocaust' as the next phase in the development of the found-footage subgenre.

THE NEAR ROOM - Another one of the pound shop random buys. It's an interesting Glasgow-noir about a burned out journalist uncovering a mire of corruption in the search for his daughter. I'm surprised it's not better known, given the familiar faces on show and the fact that it's quite stylised and odd in some ways. I mean, it's not screamingly weird or anything, but has that expressively-lit and subtlely disjointed post-'Blood Simple' feel to it. Good. Well, worth a quid anyway.

Jinx_Barkman · #**21557** 27th March 2013, 01:25 AM

Al Pacino plays Phil Spector, one of the most renowned music producers of all time who was tried and convicted of killing a woman in his home. Under the guidance of writer/director David Mamet, Pacino gives a rather deflated performance not reminiscent of the wonderful portrayal of Jack Kevorkian in You Don't Know Jack.

"This is a work of fiction. It’s not based on a true story." These are the words that we first read on the screen. The film presents Phil Spector as being wrongly accused of committing the murder of Lana Clarkson. After his original attorney exits a new crackpot lawyer, Helen Mirren, comes to represent him. Initially, she is not convinced of his innocence. Her goal is to get Spector off on the grounds of a mistrial due to a lack of evidence. After spending time on the case she is later convinced that he is innocent and through a series of ballistics experiments among other things, she is determined to let the truth be known.

Mamet has crafted a competent, well thought out film here but it can't help but be a bit underwhelming. The subject matter does not allow it to be a traditional true crime biopic so Mamet chose to instead present a series of "what if's?" for the viewer to interpret. This works quite well if not a bit questionable. He seems to only present one side of the case, the defense which would be fine if there was more to go on. This is detrimental to the film as incorporating the prosecution's guilty arguments and facts could have made the film much stronger.

The cast does it's job with Mirren being the particular standout. Overall, I would give this a light recommendation. It's a shame because with all of the talent involved in this project it should have been fantastic but alas it fits the definition of mediocrity perfectly.