Had i just watched one or two Hayworth films i probably wouldn't be bothered but it's been a while so the power of subliminal messages is telling me to get it.

I only need to hang fire until the next movie cravings take over. :lol:

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Imagine if you will part four of a Jon Pertwee six episode Doctor Who story. Well put simply this is the cinematic equivalent of that scenario.

The story is inessential. If you aren't in the know by now then forget it. Resident Evil:Afterlife is one of those films. In truth it's just what it is, a movie based on a video game. There are plenty of great set pieces on view with terrific creatures and some breath taking action, even a few quiet moments in which star Mila Jovovich and former Prison Break actor (ironically we first see him imprisoned in this too) Wentworth Miller get to shine, but mainly this film is solely concerned with creating a need to stuff down popcorn and moving the narrative on to it's inevitable conclusion however many films down the line.

In the past i've suggested this film is the worst in the series and really not very good at all. However last night's viewing felt like watching a brand new film to me. I didn't recall a thing about it and on the whole i rather enjoyed it. The other day someone said it was the one where the plane lands on the roof and i think i agreed, but only because i didn't remember the sequence from any of the other films. (Must have fallen asleep previously).

Yeah, it is the worst one I've seen up to this point (not seen 5 or 6 yet) but it does have some fun bits, mostly the bits in the prison facility. The flashbacks weren't handled very well and they felt a bit confusing and then once it got to the ship it just descended into ludicrous territory.

It's a very LOUD film, i'll give it that. Apparently the new one is even louder :lol:

The Lost Weekend(1945) The movie that risked the entire career of Ray Milland. He put up his lively hood career on a part that at the time shunned by most in the Hollywood elite circles, all the big names you could think must have thought he was truly mad to take on a part like this but he did and it was worth it. As a viewer and a fan of his work what he did with his role as chronic alcoholic Don Birnam during a mere four day period of this desperate man's life was astounding to the very least. Milland truly was and disappeared into Birnam only a truly great awe inspiring actor and more importantly man can do that. You feel and felt this man's desperation, his pain, and through his dialogues with everyone you got to really know him onscreen yet it felt you knew him personally. The supporting cast are no slouches here either. Even Billy Wilder was more on his A game than ever and honestly in my opinion never came this close again even though he was a brilliant director from the beginning until the end. The "happy ending" is the only bright spot I understand why they did this from all angles, if they had gone with a more darker ending all involved would have perished career wise but its Millands Birnam disturbing journey that matters most here. He was in Hell and if we all were to have written it in a real way we would know he was only headed towards death. Its not a PERFECT movie there is no such thing but given the subject matter I really do believe its a near flawless movie about alcoholism and the demons he...(maybe not alcoholism exclusively) but all of us carry within us. Even though Milland had many roles countless some forgettable some good it may seem he, will never be forgotten ever because of this movie.

Oh if this review is a bit muddled and unnecessarily long I have been drinking for the last hour or so...simple put I can relate to this character like not many others ever before and its an unforgettable journey that you should experience at least once in your life time.

This has been on my 'to-watch' pile for ages, since the Masters of Cinema version came out, I bought the Steelbook. I've been going through some Golden Hollywood films lately so while I'm on a roll I might bump this up the pile to the top.

Part 5, Retribution is my favourite. Part of it goes back to the very beginning of the outbreak which is a lot of fun.

Plus Mila looks really hot. :o

I watched Night Has A Thousand Desires (1984, Jesus Franco)
A husband & wife work through their problems in Uncle Jess' inimitable style. Pretty print from Mondo Macabro...really wish I had pulled my finger out for their LIAWS blu....ho hum.

Romeo's Distress (2016)

***1/2 out of *****

It is rather pretty isn't it? You can still get the standard Blu release of Lizard from most reputable e-tailers... it's just the MM site exclusive release that has sold out.

The Hatching

Just what the world needs, a Lake Placid rip off set in Somerset with dumb arse comedy and a Sweeny Todd subplot for good measure. Bollocks.

The Great Alligator

Unremarkable post Jaws jungle fun that looks kind of classy compared to the previous film.

It sounds a hell of a lot better than Lake Placid though...

I like lake placid, very enjoyable little film.

Me too and the sequels also, even the one with bondage freak, Reg from The Bill in it.

Band of the Hand (1986)

***1/2 out of *****

Started watching this film from those sets I was giving today, the picture quality why not HD or remastered is a lot better than I was expecting and is very watchable and clear with some very slight speckling, but have seen for worse on one disc. So happy with being giving these as a fast majority I've not seen.

Freight

British gangsters take on an East European, human trafficking, gang after they steal one of the gangsters portaloos! This had great potential but falls short even with shit blowing up, cage fights to the death, strippers, child prostitution and Craig Fairbrass. There is a nasty underlying racism to it as well as the East European characters are seen as nothing more than evil incarnate compared to the upright British gangsters who are a multi cultural bunch given to sprout the odd out of place speech about how great Britain used to be and the need to regulate immigrant brickies. There is a post end titles quote regarding human trafficking to let the viewer know this is serious stuff not the balls out Brit exploiter it really is. Whilst the politics are not mine , I quite like the right of centre views I have noticed in a few recent British crime films as they exploit the present view of a huge part of the country, adding another string along with boobs, blood and guns to the well aimed exploitation bow.

The Wailing. I don't think western cinema make films like this. With this Korean film, you get the whole 9 nine yards wrapped up in one package that manages still to pack a bit of a wallop despite the first 40 minutes resembling the keystone cops rather than a horror film. In fact i'm going to get all pedantic and stuff and call this a supernatural thriller rather than a horror - don't get me wrong, there's lots of horror stuff in it, but it's wrapped up in a farce/police procedural, shamanic rituals, whodunnit, and existential musings. Like i said, western cinema doesn't do this stuff.

At 150 minutes you might think it's long winded for a film of this nature, but it never drags, there's always something to demand your attention, whether it's the downright unsettling performance of the actor playing 'The Jap', the (i found them great) shamanic rituals - who knew that you had to laugh through most of it. Maybe to show the spirit it's amusing rather than scary? or the numerous twists and red-herrings that occupy the last 20 minutes or so (although my enjoyment was reduced an iota by what i think was 1 twist too many that even with hindsight makes no sense).

It's funny, informative, daring, scary, and eventually a bit gut-wrenching.

If watching 2 1/2 hours of subtitles isn't your thing, your might have problems. Me? I hardly noticed they were there.

4.5/5

I have to give this a look.
Sometimes I quite like a long film and enjoy them better than usual hr and half films. More story depth character etc. And a long subtitled film doesn't bother me either,I went to see raid 2 at cinema and that's at least 2 and half hrs.

Bloodmoon (1990)

A serial killer is at large in a catholic school, stalking and murdering the students.

A (very) late entry to the eighties slasher genre. This Australian effort seems to be ticking all the boxes that make so many slashers formulaic. Sex, attractive victims, often dumb motives for doing things. Even pretending the film is set in California. But...

...For a slasher film there's some unusually good character development. With the killer unmasked around the half way point we get to see a little of his reasoning and his submissive home behaviour due to his cruel dominating wife. The film is quite well acted preventing the characters going to waste and you genuinely root for them, hoping they might live, which is a change for slasher films, especially the later ones such as this.

The killers method of murder - a barbed wire noose with which he strangles his victims, is original, again making the movie more memorable, however the direction falls a little flat and not much suspense is generated either during or in the build up to the murders, yet it doesn't really matter as the film has more to it than just murder set pieces. Bloodmoon remains an interesting proposition and despite it's Aussie origins feels to have definite giallo leanings.

I rather enjoyed Bloodmoon, it's certainly entertaining with it's fair share of exploitation elements making it one of the better later efforts in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Zh_XUFqTg

Late 60s British SciFi movie by amicus which involes a scientist investigating when people start fallen I'll and acting strangely, not a classic by any stretch of the imagination and comes of as a poor man Quatermass, but its an enjoyable enough way to spend 75 minutes and Michael Gough is always fun to watch and as camp as a row of tents as usual. 6/10

Now watching the Mania aka Flesh and the Fiends. While the picture quality is not as good as the last movie its perfectly watchable, not seen it before but with Cushing and Pleasance good chance I will enjoy.

This sounds rather good and right up my grubby little alley.

Rambo (2008)

***1/2 out of *****

Holy Mother of F#ck...just when you thought you had seen everything, along comes David Berry resurrecting his Frankie Abbott character from Please Sir/Fenn Street Gang fame to make a 7 min short vampire film with Caroline Munro and Judy Matheson!

Words fail me if I am honest as to the quality of just about everything from script, acting and all other things that make a film...but who cares, it's Frankie Abbott and Caroline Munro. F#cking Frankie Abbott, alive and in a film!!! Here's hoping the same team make my long dreamt of projects....Olive from On the Buses is Emanuelle in America and George and Mildred Underground Mordum.

The film is on Amazon Prime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueLb2JNIfA4

Hammers take on the Burke and Hare story, really can't class this is as a horror as its really a drama/thriller, found it all very gripping and well acted especially from Cushing as the doctor who use Burke and Hare to get body's for his medical experiments, the two soon turn to killing people to obtain bodies which the doctor suspect's but does nothing. They are eventually caught when they kill daft Jamie (Melvyn Hayes) a well knowing and liked individual in the area. 7.4/10


Up to night

Edit

Watching sewage baby and I can't decide if its so bad its good or just awful.

Finished it and its just awful.

ABC of death 2.5.

Just more the same as previous 2 but a pick of the entries that where made for the letter M
Nowhere as good as the other 2 , some you like some you hate others you be scratching your head because you just didn't get it and was rather baffled
A disappointment but still worth a one of watch even if you won't bother again. Just for the weird bizarre and randomness of the film.
But I quite liked some of the background music.

I've just watched this and you might have a point. :lol:

The Paperboy (2012)

Whilst The Paperboy might sound reminiscent of a John Grisham thriller such as A Time to Kill, it isn't. The Paperboy is an ultra grim, downbeat crime drama about a journalist (Matthew McConaughey) who returns to his home town in 1969 Florida. Once there he hires his younger brother (Zac Efron) as a driver and the two set about the case of convicted but seemingly innocent thug (John Cussack) who's on death row for the murder of a racist law man.

The only chink of light in the film being a sequence when the whorish Nicole Kidman pisses on Efron on a beach, but even that is to prevent him slipping into a coma from jelly fish stings.

Despite the pessimistic aura the cast are excellent. From Macy Gray and David Oyelowo to the seemingly always excellent McConaughey, who proves once more that he only plays in rom-coms as a way of putting bread on the table.

Throughout the film there's a thick, sweaty atmosphere, think cheap bourbon and stale cigarette smoke congealing in the oppressive Florida heat which never goes away. Many of the characters are unpleasant, even McConaughey and Efron, whose army of teeny bopping fans are probably in therapy after this, come across as cold anti heroes in a film where morals have decayed past the point of no return.

The Paperboy also continues the resurgence in John Cusack. A fine actor who in this, Frozen Ground, Maps to the Stars and The Raven is moving away from the fresh faced good guy roles to meatier, more substantial fayre.

The Suckling / Sewage Baby (1990)

A mutant baby escapes into the sewers after an abortion at a low rent Brooklyn brothel.

A seriously shit horror film with some of the worst acting i can recall...

...but, but but... it does have a certain charm to it all. Not once was i bored and i found the mutant fetus monster a lot of fun. Reminiscent of early Frank Henenlotter, The Suckling is a disjointed mess, but an enjoyable mutated one at that.

The first twenty minutes actually seemed like deleted scenes thrown together from another movie altogether but it eventually settled down to a slightly disorientating slasher crossed with monster in the closet horror movie which even has a lengthy and bizarre S&M scene. Silly and even a little disturbing, The Suckling is a movie every horror fan should watch once.

It's a great film Dem. I would like to see Zac Efron in more dramas, I have a a feeling there is a great actor hiding behind his pecs.

This just makes me giggle. The only chink of light is Nicole Kidman pissing on Zach Efron. Chink of light?? [emoji23] [emoji23]

Right then let's try and do some of these review thingies.

First up.

Suicide Squad. David Ayer. 2016.

After the disappointment that was Batman vs Superman I can't say I had much faith in DC's next offering. How wrong I was, this film is great fun and while the plot is a right bloody mess and the film appears to have been edited by a pissed up Freddy Krueger it doesn't really matter. It's hardly challenging to work out what's going on and unlike BvsS the plot doesn't matter all that much. BvsS was dependant on character motivation for it to work. There wasn't much and therefore it didn't.
In Suicide Squad we have a bunch of DC villains released from their various maximum security super prisons and coerced into fighting an even bigger villain. How? Well stick a little bomb thingy in their neck and if they don't behave then head go boom. Fairly straightforward really.
What is interesting is how these characters relationships develop through the movie and how we get more depth to them than Jessie Eisenberg managed in the whole runtime of that 'other film'.
Fantastic cast too. Will Smith is excellent as Deadshot (no I'd never heard of him before either) the planets most wanted hitman whose superpower if you can call it that is absolutely perfect accuracy with any weapon. Jai Courtney was a revelation as Captain Boomerang. Not sure what the abilities of this Aussie armed robber are meant to be but given Courtney has been rubbish in absolutely everything I've seen him in til now, I was very impressed with his turn here. Even Joel Kinnamon who was terrible in the RoboCop rehash is good here as Colonel Flagg the army dude assigned to hold this ragtag bunch together and push the head popping button if needs be. The films actual villain is The Enchantress, an ancient sorceress who inhabits the body of Professor Moon, Flaggs girlfriend. Much as been made of both Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as The Joker and Harley Quinn the King and Queen of crime in Gotham. And rightly so as they both turn in for me the performances of the film. Leto makes for a very different Joker to anything seen before and for a change is truly scary. Margot Robbie plays Quinn as a truly damaged young woman and more than just the eye candy the role might first appear.
Hell even trying to review this film is tricky because it is admittedly a mess but for me it is a great glorious gorgeous mess that I thoroughly enjoyed and to be honest the chaotic nature of the film really does suit the source material. It's also the closest I've ever seen to an actual comic on the screen. Far better than the one watch wonder that was Deadpool and for me actually one of the best of the comic book flicks we've been bombarded with in the past few years.
All that said strutting round in that outfit Margot Robbie could sell sand to Arabs and both Warner Bros and David Ayer knew very well they could throw whatever else they liked at the screen and this film would make money.

Great review J :nod:

Only I don't agree with is the Deadpool comment, because I loved that film and haven't laughed as much watching a film in ages, Ryan Reynolds was born to play that role (check out his hilarious Twitter account!).
I've not seen the newer extended version of Suicide Squad yet, but it's on my to watch list.

I did enjoy Deadpool but the self referential humour in particular wore thin. It felt too much like a spoof.

That's pretty much what Deadpool comic books are like :nod:

Yeah. Deadpool is essentially a parody of other superhero genre creations.

I thought Efron was terrific in Me and Orson Welles in which Christian Mackay is superb as the great theatre director – have you seen it?

Next up.

Odd Man Out. Carol Reed. 1947.

A superb James Mason plays Johnny McQueen the leader of an unnamed but rather obvious 'organisation' in Northern Ireland. Recently escaped from prison after being jailed for smuggling weapons Johnny is holed up in the house of sympathisers Kathleen and her Grandmother while he plans a daring robbery to provide funds for his group. Not really ready for such a job following prison Johnny is caught off guard by an overzealous clerk and ends up getting wounded during the getaway. Panicking the getaway driver leaves Johnny for dead and head back to headquarters. And so begins Johnny's journey through the backstreets of snowy Belfast, evading police and bumping into all manner of characters both helplful and threatening. Kathleen meanwhile has fallen for Johnny and sets out into the night to find him and get him away before the police get to him. Carol Reeds best known film close as I can tell is The Third Man but this is in my opinion a far far superior piece of Cinema. Wonderful and dreamy as our anti-hero, a man who gives no real reason to deserve our sympathy other than Masons superb charismatic performance stumbles through the surreal alleys and bars and shelters of a romanticised Northern Ireland. A cracking assortment of character actors mostly new to me populate this alien landscape, F.J.McCormick, William Hartnell, Robert Newton amongst others. And an excellent atmospheric score that does masses to bring the scenes to life too. My biggest bugbear with The Third Man was the godawful music that had me wanting to gouge my eardrums out with a fork by the halfway mark. None of that crap here.
Highly recommended.

Odd Man Out is an excellent film. The Third Man is better in just about every respect though, including the score!

That horrible bloody zither music ruins the film as far as I'm concerned Nos. Makes it barely watchable.

I love the zither music and think it really adds to the atmosphere, setting (Austria is one of the countries in which the music is normally found), and tone. The theme from the film was also very popular and made the UK top 10 at the time.

Music, like films, is very subjective though.