What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Blimey, Daemonia, that's quite a bit of watching! What time period do those three posts cover?

This was over the last couple of months. Not all in one week!

[Daemonia]

My Sister's Keeper (2009) - Depressing darama about a child dying of cancer and who needs a donor to help her live. Unfortunately, the parents are not a compatible match, so they make a controversial decision, they have another child - genetically engineered to be a perfect match. But as the donor child grows older, she resents being a bunch of spare parts for her older sister and takes her parents to court. It's not a bad film, but it's really depressing. Glad I only rented the BD, as I wouldn't want to watch it again.

Extraordinary Measures (2010) - Pretty much 'disease of the week' fare that is elevated by the presence of Brandan Fraser and Harrison Ford. Basically, Fraser's kids have a rare disease that is slowly killing them and biochemist Ford might have the answer and so begins the race to find a cure. It's not bad, but hardly earth-shattering stuff.

Case 39 (2009) - Renee Borewegger makes a departure from her usual rom-com stuff to star in this tale of a social worker who believes she has rescued a young girl from abusive parents. She subsequently agrees to temporarily foster the child, only to discover that the child might not be all she seems. It's actually a good story, but Borewegger never manages to be convincing enough to carry it. It wasn't bad, I suppose, but it's not exactly great, either. The child, Jodelle Ferdland, acts better than Renee, although that's hardly a compliment.

The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009) - Gave this a rent on Blu-ray and I'm glad I did, actually. It's a totally bonkers film that purports to tell the true story of the exploration of psychic warfare within the US government and military. It's genuinely funny at times and it's certainly the best thing George Clooney and Ewan MacGregor have done in a while. When I watched the extras I was surprised to learn how close to the truth the film really is! Recommended.

Escape From LA (1996) - John Carpenter and Kurt Russell team up agin to revive the character of Snake Plissken. This time around the government need Snake to recover a device that can turn off the world's power, sending it back to the dark ages. The only problem is that he'll have to go to the island of LA to retrieve it, a place where all the country's undesirables ar deported. Lots of action, a smattering of poor CGI and lots of tough dialogue. It's enjoyable enough though and I didn't mind seeing this again. Russell is good, although the dialogue, even in 1996, is a bit dated and too 80's really. But the cast do a top job and keep things lively and interesting, you can tell everyone is just having fun throwing themselves into their larger-than-life roles.

Missing in Action (1984) - Chuck Norris is soldier James Braddock, who has just been released form a POW camp in Vietnam. He insists that more Americans are still being held prisoner and sets off on a one-man mission to free them. It plays out like a bargain basement Rambo and the opening scene where he kicks in his TV is lifted wholesale from Apocalypse Now, only not as good. But, having said all that, it's all good 80's action fun and keeps you entertained throughout. Norris talks tough and saves the day. And he barely gets a scratch despite seemingly taking on the entire Vietcong army on his own!

Voodoo Island (1957) - Karloff explores Voodoo Island! Karloff stars as Philip Knight, a man who specialises in proving that the supernatural is a hoax. He is hired by a wealthy land developer to prove that an island he plans to build on isn't under a voodoo curse. So Knight sets out with a motley crew to disprove the existence of voodoo on the island. However, when a man falls off a bridge and a plastic doll appears in front of him, this, apparently, is enough to convince him that voodoo does exist!

Slither (1973) - James Caan is Dick Kanipsia, who has just got out of prison. He is on the trail of some embezzled money and meets up with some quirky characters along the way. It's basically a road movie but brilliantly done and Caan is superb as the bemused Kanipsia who can't believe all the bizarre situations he unwittingly finds himself in. Thoroughly enjoyed this one - highly recommended. The Warner Archive disc looks lovely too, can't understand why this never one got a proper release, it's great.

The Hunchback of the Morgue (1973) - Realised I'd never seen this one, so into the player it went. From the moment the thoroughly inappropriate opening theme begins you just know you're in for a strange experience. And you wouldn't be wrong. Paul Naschy is Gotho, the local morgue attendant, who's also a hunchback. But he has a nasty temper and after killing two other morgue workers he goes into hiding, taking with him the corpse of his beloved. Well, I say beloved, because when he gets the offer of a lay from a pretty lady friend he quickly obliges. Like that would ever happen. But anyway, after this romantic(?) encounter, he gets roped into helping a mad scientist who needs somewhere to continue his illicit experiments and Gotho's hideout is the perfect spot. This scientist is trying to grow an organism, but it soon gets out of control and he has to start feeding it bodies - because severed heads and frogs just won't do the job anymore. Yes, you read that correctly. So it's not long before this creature is incessantly screaming for more bodies, which Gotho has to supply. It all reaches a violent climax as Gotho fights the black-tar-man-beast-thingy.

It's all as bonkers as it sounds and I had a thoroughly great time. I shouldn't really recommend this, but I will anyway. Good stuff - so bad it's great.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) 3 friends and one of their young nephews head back to an old ski resort to relive their glory days of the 80's. However, when they get there the place has become delapidated and fallen into disrepair. Nevertheless, they opt to stay and spot the hot tub. In they go....and are transported back to 1986. However, they must do exactly the same things they did that night in '86 or there's a risk the nephew, Jacob, may never be born. It's daft as a brush and full of annoying yank humour that's so obvious it ceases to be funny. It's a passable effort, but nothing to rave about. John Cusack is good, though. The other actors are....average.

After.Life (2010) - Anna (Christina Ricci) drives home angry and is caught in a car accident. She wakes to find herself in the morgue of a funeral home, being prepared for burial by Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson). Deacon is able to communicate with her and claims that that is his gift and he is there not only to prepare her for burial, but to also help her cross over to the other side. But is she really dead? Her boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) becomes convinced that she isn't and sets out to prove it. But things don't always turn out the way you plan.

It's an interesting idea, but halfway in you can feel the whole thing start to drag and flounder. The main problem, I think, is that this would be served better as, say, a Twilight Zone episode rather than a full-length feature. There's just not enough interesting stuff happening to keep you intrigued. Still, as it stands, it's not a bad effort.

Poltergeist III (1988) - Carol Anne is staying with relatives and that mean old man is after her again. It sounds like a sex abuse drama, but it's not. It's just a rather crap horror film. I'd never seen it before so the crapness was all new to me. Some films are meant to be avoided, this being one of them. Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen are wasted here and director (and writer) Gary Sherman should know better, as he's done far, far better than this monstrosity. Avoid! If I'd paid to see this at the cinema the manager would have ended up with serious injuries. At least I got it on DVD paired with Poltergeist 2 so I didn't feel completely cheated.

An Education (2009) - Bollocks.

Miracle Mile (1988) - Harry Washello (Anthony Edwards) inadvertently answers a public payphone and is told by a frantic army man that nuclear war is underway and that missiles will hit Los Angeles in just over an hour. Harry has to figure out whether this is true, because if it is, then he has to find his loved ones and escape the city. But is it true? Nail-biting stuff and you never know until right at the end whether it's real or not. Riveting stuff and highly, highly recommended. Just a shame that MGM put this out barebones and fullscreen. Idiots.

Extract (2009) - Joel (Jason Bateman) is the owner of a factory that produces flavouring extracts. But his life is coming apart at the seams, with his wife seemingly uninterested in him and he's got eyes on a shapely new employee. It's an inoffensive film and actually had some mildly funny moments. Not brilliant but entertaining enough.

Crossing Over (2009) - Harrison Ford is Max Brogan, an ageing Immigration Control inspector who is becoming cynical of his work. Then we're introduced to several different story strands showing the struggles of immigrants trying to achieve legal status in the USA. It's a bit boring, to be honest, and is a little overlong and doesn't really bring anything new to the table. It's not controversial enough to be intriguing and it's not quite boring enough to be a complete waste of time. It's somewhere in between. Glad I only rented the Blu-ray, as it's not a film I'd ever watch again.

Buried (2010) - Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a truck driver in Iraq and wakes to find himself buried in a box. He has limited tools at his disposal to try and save himself. Luckily, one of those items is a mobile phone, but it's not his and very soon he makes contact with his abductors - but they want $5m before they'll release him. The film is all about Conroy and his struggle to be found by the US authorities - we only hear the people he speaks to on the phone. It's clever in that we only know what he knows. Reynolds pulls this off brilliantly, no mean feat as it's a complete one-man-show. Enjoyed this one.

The Town (2010) - The opening title cards tell us that Charlestown, in Boston, is home to a concentrated number of thieves and armed robbers. The skills of these illicit trades are passed on from generation-to-generation. Doug Macray (Ben Affleck) is one such armed robber and during a heist that has gone a bit awry, they temporarily take a female teller hostage as a precautionary measure, in case they are seized upon by the police. However, in the days that follow the robbery, Doug strikes up a relationship with the girl, who doesn't know that he was one of her abductors. Things begin to get complicated and Doug has to make some difficult choices and decide where his loyalties lie. Really quite enjoyed this one, it's a pretty good film.

[Daemonia]

The Last Exorcism (2010) Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) is something of a phoney evangelical preacher who really doesn't have any faith and simply sees himself as providing a service to those that do believe. He allows himself to be filmed as he goes about his daily life and when he is called upon to perform an exorcism, the film crew go with him to film it. Thinking it'll just be a routine case of doing some theatrics and 'exorcising' the young girl - if she believes she's been exorcised, she'll be alright - Cotton launches into his preacher mode to 'cure' the girl. At least that's Cotton's reasoning. But he soon discovers that things might not be quite what they appear to be. The ending is thoroughly stupid, but up until that point it's an interesting look at the role of religion in society and how some people peddle it and some people swallow it. The ending ruined all of that, unfortunately. Take off that ending and you'd have something that's a little bit different but very thought-provoking. Not bad, but hated the ending.

Make Mine a Million (1959) Arthur Ashton (Arthur Askey) works at the National Television Service as a make-up man. He is approached by Sid Gibson (Sid James) about promoting his soap powder. Problem is, the TV station is non-commercial, but Arthur hatches a plot to sneak in some advertising. Enjoyable Brit romp from the golden age of British cinema and I had a thoroughly good time. Wasn't sure what I'd make of Askey all these years later, but I found myself chuckling along. The humour is dated, but I liked it all the same - especially when he proclaims the soap really does make everything white and a black woman pops up Certainly no political correctness going on here. Really enjoyed this one - and, of course, Sid James is always a joy to watch.

'You can cut out that continental stuff!'

Kick Ass (2010) - Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is determined to become a superhero....only he's not very good at it. He names himself Kick Ass and soon encounters a young girl who really can kick ass and it's frenetic action all the way. The film moves along at a breakneck pace and is never dull. I thought this was brilliant and I'll definitely have to revisit this one.

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) - Lionel Atwill is Ivan Igor, wax sculptor. When his business partner decides the business is running at a loss he sets fire to the wax museum - with Ivan trapped inside. But Ivan survives the fire and relocates and re-opens his wax museum - only this time he's using corpses! This is a real curio as it's one of the very earliest films to use a colour process. The colouring is decidely muted, but adds an extra dimension. It's a good enough film with or without it, but it does increase its historical importance. The scenes with Atwill creeping about without his mask on, showing his fire-scarred face are extremely effective and creepy. If you haven't seen this, it's tucked away as an extra on the 1953 House of Wax DVD. Well worth checking out.

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (2009) - Caught this on a Blu-ray rental. Looks very nice, good transfer. Fairly impressive cast and some inventive set design. Now, if someone would just tell me what the **** it all means, I'd be very grateful. Self-indulgent nonsense, really.

The Silencers (1966) - Dean Martin is Matt Helm, superagent. He's called in to tackle a madman (the portly Victor Buono) who is threatening to start WW3. This should have been a great film, but sadly it comes off as a bit of a pale imitation of the Flint movies, which did the spy spoof thing so much better. Dean Martin is no James Coburn, that's for sure. Coburn does sauve so much better. Still, there was the sight of the lovely Daliah Lavi to behold, so it ain't all bad. I'll certainly check out the rest of the Helm series, they may get better....or worse!

Sex and Drugs and Rock & Roll (2010) - Andy Serkis plays Ian Dury and is pure shining brilliance in the role, he had Dury down to a tee. The film is as madcap as Dury's life was, showing his struggles against his disability whilst ultimately triumphing - albeit through a haze of sex and drugs (not that that's a bad thing, in my book It's all superbly done and I had a thoroughly good time. The genius of the film is that it never plays for sympathy, but is more of a celebration of Dury's unique talent. I don't imagine this film would export well, though, it's a decidedly British film about eccentric British musicians. I thought it was great.

Home of the Brave (2009) - Caught this on a Blu-ray rental and it's...alright. Nothing we haven't seen before. The film shows the struggles of Iraq vets returning home to America and their struggles to re-adjust. Personally, I don't get it. If you enlist to become a soldier you know you're ultimately being trained for war - so why do they whine when the enemy fires at guns at them? I mean, it's their job, isn't it? Oh well...whatever. It's a passable human drama, but not one I could recommend, unfortunately. Shame, as the opening scenes in Iraq are very effective.

Jeremiah Johnson (1972) - Robert redford stars as Jeremiah Johnson, a former army man who decides to head into the mountains and live off the land. He meets some oddball characters along the way and learns all the tricks of the trade. He even ends up with an initially unwanted Squaw wife and an adopted son. But when he crosses the Indian Crows, they kill his family and he becomes embittered, seeking revenge on this tribe at every opportunity. But he soon finds his way again, and the ending was just perfect. Understated but full of meaning. When the Indian raises his hand at Johnson in a sign of peace, you know his lust for revenge is over. The film is positively packed with stunning scenery and director Pollack really does capture the awe of life as a pioneer on the wild frontier. Absolutely loved this and can't believe I've never seen it. Shame on me, but at least now I've discovered it and I will definitely give this a revisit in a couple of years' time.

Harry Brown (2009) - Michael Caine is Harry Brown. That should be recommendation enough, but I'll write some more. Harry is a lonely man after his ageing wife dies and all he has left is his old friend Leonard Atwell. When Len is killed by thugs on the local run-down estate, Harry goes into vigilante mode, seeking justice for his old friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this and the tale is told so believably that you can't help but be sucked into this violent and vicious world of the underclass. Caine is on top form and acts his socks off. Absolutely brilliant. If you haven't seen this, do so at the earliest opportunity!

Theater of Blood (1973) - With an ever growing pile of films to watch, I felt a bit guilty giving this a re-watch, but I just couldn't resist it. Vincent Price plays Edward Lionheart, an embittered actor who seeks vengeance on the critics who continually gave him bad reviews - by dispatching them using methods from Shakespeare plays. It's brilliantly entertaining stuff - all very tongue-in-cheek with constant winks to the viewer. Despite the lighthearted tone, there's still some grim and grisly stuff contained within, but you can't help chuckling to yourself. Price is supported by a bevy of British talent including Jack Hawkins, Arthur Lowe, Madeline Smith, Diana Rigg, Michael Hordern, Dennis Price, Robert Morley, Ian Hendry, Diana Dors, Eric Sykes and Milo O'Shea. How can you go wrong with a cast like that?

District 13: Ultimatum (2009) - Pretty much a bit of a retread of the first film - that is to say, lots of athletic people talk French and run around a lot. This time around some corrupt cops kill some other cops and try and frame the inhabitants of District 13 for it. Cue lots of shooting, violence and people running and jumping.

Paradise Lost (2006) - A group of holidaymakers in Brazil get stranded and find themselves at the mercy of some sinister locals. A nice central idea, but it's mostly derivative and predictable nonsense. This is definitely from the Hostel school of filmmaking and simply replaces the central theme with something a little different. It was alright but nothing special. If you've seen Hostel then you'll kind of know what to expect.

Companeros (1970) - Tomas Milian, Franco Nero and Jack Palance in a spaghetti western, what more recommendation do you need? Okay, Palance has a false hand and a pet bird. There, now you really want to see it, don't you? Fate brings together Yodlaf Peterson (Franco Nero) and El Vasco (Tomas Milian) who must seek out the elusive Professor Xantos, but John (Jack Palance) is hot on their trail, as he wants to kill Xantos. It's all good fun and I really enjoyed it. Recommended. Definitely one of the great spaghetti westerns.

Fortress (1992) - John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his wife commit a crime in a futuristic world. Their crime is to conceive a second child, which is forbidden by the State, and they are arrested and imprisoned within the titular Fortress. Brennick, of course, is having none of it and immediately hatches an escape plan. It's all good, harmless fun and Stuart Gordon directs with a sure hand. I enjoyed revisiting this one again almost 20 years later (has it really been that long?). But one question: if this is their second child, what happened to the first one?

The Mole People (1956) - Explorers discover an underground world where a mutated form of human has evolved. It's all typically wacky 50's sci-fi and the actual Mole People (slaves to the mutant humans) are brilliantly realised. Really enjoyed this one, even though it made very little sense!

Monsters (2010) - This film made me want to smash the house up. It made me furious. Basically, in a near-future America, a space probe crashes and brings with it alien lifeforms. This area is designated a no-go zone. But a news photographer is charged with getting his boss's daughter safely from Mexico to the USA, which means travelling through the alien zone. Sounds good, yeah? It's not. It's like some ****ing holiday show, all they do is travel. Nothing happens. Nothing. It''s just talking, travelling, more travelling, more drab conversation. To say this film is slightly boring is like saying Hitler was a tiny bit racist. It's boring on a momentous scale. It's monotous, slow, boring, tedious, sleep-inducing wank. Hated this. I got to the end and I was angry - is that it? Okay, so we get a bit at the end with aliens, which basically just float in the sky for a bit, then float away. ****ing great, and that's all we're gonna get? I mean, I get that the film is built on subtlety and understatement, but this is taking that style to ridiculous lengths. The plot just falls apart at every turn - like, the guy has PAID for an armed escort then gets all shirty when they turn up with guns. ****ing hell, that's what you ****ing asked for! I hated this film so much I'm going to cremate the DVD and hunt down the filmmakers and torture them.

I've finally found a film that I hate more than The Blair Witch Project.

[pedromonkey]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Monsters (2010) - This film made me want to smash the house up. It made me furious. Basically, in a near-future America, a space probe crashes and brings with it alien lifeforms. This area is designated a no-go zone. But a news photographer is charged with getting his boss's daughter safely from Mexico to the USA, which means travelling through the alien zone. Sounds good, yeah? It's not. It's like some ****ing holiday show, all they do is travel. Nothing happens. Nothing. It''s just talking, travelling, more travelling, more drab conversation. To say this film is slightly boring is like saying Hitler was a tiny bit racist. It's boring on a momentous scale. It's monotous, slow, boring, tedious, sleep-inducing wank. Hated this. I got to the end and I was angry - is that it? Okay, so we get a bit at the end with aliens, which basically just float in the sky for a bit, then float away. ****ing great, and that's all we're gonna get? I mean, I get that the film is built on subtlety and understatement, but this is taking that style to ridiculous lengths. The plot just falls apart at every turn - like, the guy has PAID for an armed escort then gets all shirty when they turn up with guns. ****ing hell, that's what you ****ing asked for! I hated this film so much I'm going to cremate the DVD and hunt down the filmmakers and torture them.

I've finally found a film that I hate more than The Blair Witch Project.

finally someone else who actually hated this film, it was extremely badly promoted as a sci-fi epic, which is false advertising on a grand scale. I hated it so much.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Brilliant reviews Daemonia.

I saw Jeremiah Johnson for the first time last year and thought it was absolutely superb. I'd sort of avoided it in the past, don't know why really though.

I'd also been told Gamer was terrible and waited till i could get it for 1p on Amazon, i too really enjoyed it, great action film.

Bring em' Hell Malone was also very good, seen it a couple of times now and enjoyed it immensly.

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by pedromonkey

finally someone else who actually hated this film, it was extremely badly promoted as a sci-fi epic, which is false advertising on a grand scale. I hated it so much.

I think people are afraid to trash the film because the director basically did it all himself and made the film on an almost zero budget. I guess that's commendable. But then my father-in-law shoots lots of family videos on a zero budget, do you really want to watch them, though?

So, no, I'm not afraid to trash the film. And even though I recognise the craftsmanship of it being pretty much a one-man-show, that doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Phurious]

Originally Posted by pedromonkey

finally someone else who actually hated this film, it was extremely badly promoted as a sci-fi epic, which is false advertising on a grand scale. I hated it so much.

I'm on the other side of the fence. A lot of people at Frightfest were really miffed when this played (and to be fair it's an odd one to screen) and it turned out that the monsters were second fiddle to the road journey and blossoming relationship.

But being the big sap that I am I thought it was superbly performed and incredibly well made on such a miniscule budget. A real triumph of guerilla film making.
Many people have commented on the apparently obvious political metaphors, but it's interesting when Gareth Edwards was interviewed that the metaphors and allegories that he had in mind were more about the Afghan conflict and not illegal immigration into the United States.
The two leads are a real life couple and this added some hefty emotional punch to the proceedings as well I thought. And that last scene in the store - phew, it really blew me away.

I agree that the marketing for this movie has been very misguided, but I actually like the fact that the title is very far removed from what people's expectations are - I mean no-one moaned that there were no reservoirs or dogs in Tarantino's debut.

Obtuse titles aside I think it's a formidable debut and I'm very interested to see what he does with Godzilla (man in a suit apparently!).

[Phurious]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Dog Pound (2010) - Gave this Blu-ray rental a spin not expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. 3 young lads find themselves incarcerated in a Montana youth facility/prison and have to contend not only with the guards, but with the bullying inmates too. It's provocative stuff and no shortage of brutal violence. But it's more of a character study than an out-and-out prison film. Quite enjoyed this. Worth a look.

It bears more than little resemblance to Alan Clarke's Scum, which is no bad thing in my book.
Kim Chapiron's debut Sheitan or Satan is well worth checking out too. Vincent Cassel steals the show as a loony inbred farmer and the plot is somewhat derivative of countless teens in peril flicks, but it's really quite a lot of fun.

[antmumford]

Originally Posted by Phurious

I'm on the other side of the fence. A lot of people at Frightfest were really miffed when this played (and to be fair it's an odd one to screen) and it turned out that the monsters were second fiddle to the road journey and blossoming relationship.

But being the big sap that I am I thought it was superbly performed and incredibly well made on such a miniscule budget. A real triumph of guerilla film making.
Many people have commented on the apparently obvious political metaphors, but it's interesting when Gareth Edwards was interviewed that the metaphors and allegories that he had in mind were more about the Afghan conflict and not illegal immigration into the United States.
The two leads are a real life couple and this added some hefty emotional punch to the proceedings as well I thought. And that last scene in the store - phew, it really blew me away.

I agree that the marketing for this movie has been very misguided, but I actually like the fact that the title is very far removed from what people's expectations are - I mean no-one moaned that there were no reservoirs or dogs in Tarantino's debut.

Obtuse titles aside I think it's a formidable debut and I'm very interested to see what he does with Godzilla (man in a suit apparently!).

Couldn't agree more. Beautifully shot, superbly acted and directed. Kudos to Gareth for a great debut film.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by Phurious

It bears more than little resemblance to Alan Clarke's Scum, which is no bad thing in my book.
Kim Chapiron's debut Sheitan or Satan is well worth checking out too. Vincent Cassel steals the show as a loony inbred farmer and the plot is somewhat derivative of countless teens in peril flicks, but it's really quite a lot of fun.

Sheitan is great and Cassel is superb. The whole family is looney tunes and the film is never predictable, you just never quite know where the story is going. I thought the scene with the girl and the dog was very uncomfortable viewing and it's from that point things get even weirder. Brilliant film.