I’ve never understood the love for Polanski’s films :nod:

Not even Rosemarys baby?

That’s the exception, but I still think it’s pretty average and overrated, prefer the Omen TBH

From watching it constantly on T.V as a kid-teen i too love the Omen.:nod:

As to Polanski I really like Rosemarys baby, Repulsion and the Tenant, which are all thematically linked by the subject of paranoia.:cool:

Otherwise i think fearless vampires is a bit hit and miss, i like it but it's not amazing.

Chinatown was O.K when i saw it years ago and i didn't mind Cul-de-sac due to Donald Pleasence being in it.

Also quite liked his version of Macbeth.:pop2:

I've barely seen any Polanski films. The Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp is easily the best of his I've watched. Remember Frantic being ok but haven't seen it in years. And Chinatown was average. I tried The Tenant but it bored my silly.

With me i think he's either brilliant or rubbish.

As it's all personal taste the ones i don't like tend to be the ones others love. Such as The Tenant and Fearless Vampire Killers. Rosemary's Baby is merely average, just a kitchen sink drama that's as scary as seeing a spider on your wall.

I've had Repulsion for ages but don't want to watch it in case i don't like it.

I tend to like his less heralded work such as Venus in Fur, The Ghost Writer, The Ninth Gate (a masterpiece), Bitter Moon, Frantic, What?.

Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers is a very fine parody. Period.

Was it not for Sharon Tate i wouldn't give it house room.

:whip: :poke: :fencing:

Exactly. Glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t get why it’s always in the Top Ten of Best Horror Films lists :nod:

justice league of america

Closest comparison for me is suicide squad. A film that's been rescued in editing and reshoots and moulded into something very watchable. It's not a classic, in fact it's not a very good film at all but it rolls things along for a two hour running time where things mostly make sense, the humour actually lands occasionally and isn't just endless colour drained scenes of people in costumes weeping in the rain. Hell, superman actually starts to feel like superman and not Zac Snyder's apology for the character. His interactions with the Flash actually could have been taken from one of the animated shows.
The films still messy in places. Some iffy editing and some humour feeling forced and a little grating. The biggest bugbears for me was that any of the human scenes don't work and are either plain boring or completely senseless unless you know your comics. Steppenwolf, the main villains plan makes no real sense beyond uniting boxes to do bad things unless your au fait with the new gods back story. Steppenwolf himself is a big problem. The special effects are fairly shit, especially in the final act. Steppenwolf himself is something else however. If you wound the clock back 15 years and walked into one of the Lord of the rings films you'd have thought weta workshop had dropped the ball. Now it's bad enough to be genuinely distracting. It's not helped that he has some of the worst dialogue in the film however.

Overall it's not as good as wonder woman (awful ending included) but it's not the absolute garbage fire of stupidity that Batman vs Superman was.

Your defeatist comments really make me want to rewatch this film. :tongue1:

Well i for one really rate Rosemary's Baby , with the slow build up of paranoia and tension, the creepy overbearing neighbours (helps that i really like Ruth Gordon from 'Harold and Maude') and the unexpected outcome.

Also although Mia Farrow starts off irritating i really begin to feel for her as the film unfolds and her playing of growing terror, then sheer panic is great.

Also the theme by Krzysztof Komeda is beautiful and haunting..

Ignore Dem and Rik, it's a great film.;)

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Mia Farrow starts off being irritating and... never stops.

Well, to be fair she's been surrounded by awful people most of her life. Working for Polanski, married to Sinatra, then hooking up with Allen. Enough to make anyone irritating, i imagine. Art imitating life innit.

So we both watched a film with Lionel Stander D ;)

Ahem.

Gold (Peter Hunt )
Roger Moore is .... Roger Moore in this Wilbur Smith adaptation. Unscrupulous capitalists (are there any other kind??:rolleyes:) plan to make more money at the expense of a few workers lives. Sadly RM is at hand with his trademark decency. Well .... he does jump into bed with his bosses wife first chance he gets ahem ....
Middling 'actioner' with prolonged sequence 'in water' and yes, real water not CGI. Interesting also to hear the word 'chicken shit' and see a man's face ripped off in a PG rated film ( was it an A at the time? hmmm ....)

I put that down to lazy journalism myself. The genre having moved on a tad etc.

Polanski always did divide opinion. I have a soft spot for TFVK as it was a formative influence ahem. The Tenant is what it is. A classic :laugh:

The Vault (2017)

A stylish but not very compelling film about two sisters who lead a team in a bank robbery, the problem is, the vault is haunted.

The Vault was one of those films where i didn't like a single character nor did i care what happened to them. Attempts at characterisation were either non-existent or clumsy from the off. The opening half hour - the bank heist - wasn't bad but sadly it fell away after that.

The ghosts when they appeared were signposted by the most atrocious music - why can't a face appear behind someone then disappear without a huge dance style beat on the soundtrack? Surely making this happen quietly leaving the viewer guessing if they've just seen something is a lot more well, creepy and thought provoking. The same goes for the lighting effects. Whenever the apparitions appeared we were inflicted strobe lighting upon us...why? Seriously! It's just shit!

There's an attempt at a twist ending but by that time i was thinking why bother with any subtlety when all you've done so far is hit us about the head with a sledge hammer?

I've seen a lot worse than The Vault and so will you, but i don't recommend it.

Dan Bush, this film's director also made The Signal back in 2007. That i do recommend.

Ellie

A late entry into the comedy hicksploitation genre from the mid 80s. Ellie uses her body to kill the men who killed her father...

Not a lot to say about this, you either like this kind of crud or you don't. However it stars Shelly Winters at her middle aged best...you can smell the cheap cigs, moonshine and last night's sweaty sex coming from her in waves every time she appears on screen. What a gal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9-DM9uBtVI

It still suffers from the same problems that plauged BvsS and man of steel, poor pacing and being disjointed but it's not as bad here, the league are all likable and each get more or less equel screen time. Once again the CGI is awful in places ,which seems to be a norm for the DC films, it's especially awful with the villian who looks like something out of a video game, also doesn't help that he is a poor and forgettable villian and is easily the worst thing in the film., we have a rather poor ending which made the league seem redundant. As I said the new characters all come of likable Flash gives the film and the league some heart and humour , cyborg who I fought would be boring , was interesting and would like to see how they develop him with his solo movie. Henry Cavil while no Chis Reeves is finally getting the character right and wasn't as boring and charmless as before. Better than BvsS and man of steel but not as good as Wonder Woman , DC do your self a favour and dump who ever does your special effects.

7.4/10

Three on a Meathook.

This starts out like a XXX film with the filth removed before moving on into some kind of sub Bergman meander on existence before turning into a love story then ends up as a cannibal shocker complete with a doctor behind a desk explaining everything. One of the most enjoyable films I have seen this year.

I’ve wanted to watch this for years, ever since reading about it in book I bought from my local library for 50p back in 1991!
I’m gonna have to seek it out now :nod:

Mistress of the Apes

Larry Buchanan directed monkey madness with comedy songs on the soundtrack every now and then.

This one had me questioning my own cult film hipster status, wondering if I was too cool for liking it or do I have no critical judgement left after a lifetime of bathing my eyes in the shit stinking swamp of z-grade bilge.

I really liked it even though nothing happens for long periods of time and I do mean nothing. I watched it on Amazon Prime...the home of shite old and new.

I've still got the exploited label U.K VHS of '3 on a meathook'.

Going for broke with a Moore double bill ... Moonraker ... the film I got to see at the pictures instead of Alien :laugh: as my mum didn't fancy it :pound:
Or was it The Black Hole? :lol:

Watched Empire btw. This time it was all about the puppet. :lol:

Lust of the Vampire Girls

Zero budget attempt to make a Jean Rollin film with Nazis using vampires to become immortal.

This pretty much falls short in every way: plot, dialogue, imagery and acting. It is just incredibly flat and tedious which oddly enough is exactly what makes Rollin's films work so well.

The Long Dark Hall (1951)

This is more like it.

Broadway musical star Rex Harrison is totally out of his acting depth in this tale of a man convicted of murdering a show girl whilst the real killer worms his way into Harrison's wife's life.

Part shadowy Noir, part courtroom thriller, The Long Dark Hall is a solid film with a sadly rushed ending that is probably quite unlike what it's author, famed Salford crime writer Edgar Lustgarten envisioned. However Dr. No's Anthony Dawson makes for an inspired creepy protagonist as he stalks pretty young women in the shadowy streets.

The Network dvd restored by the BFI looks and sounds great.

Callan (1974, Don Sharp)
The 70s TV adaptation that everyone forgets ahem. Seedier than Palmer, our boy returns to the fold for one last job. Anthony Valentine excels as a nemesis/fellow agent and Russell Hunter is an apology in human form as timid informant Lonely. Brisk if uneven pacing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKYFa9FHEU4

Disney's answer to star wars and the slew of movies that popped up in its wake, unlike the star wars this was a very dark film especially for Disney at the time and what was supposed to be aimed at children, as I said it's very dark and for a young boy with a overactive imagination it was very scary with the psychotic robot Maximilian , robot zombies and the end scenes when they enter "Hell" I really wish they had went with the planned remake, but sadly that's been in limbo for years.9/10

Anthony Valentine is always worth a watch. Did you ever see him as Major Mohn in Colditz? Terrific stuff.

The only thing I remember about Colditz is the episode where one of the prisoners drives himself into a breakdown in order to 'escape'. Noted.

Do you mean the movie version? I didn't think Valentine was in that. :confused:

Christine

John Carpenter's adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name has built up something of a fanbase over the years. It's poor reception on release somewhat redeemed. Watching it again after a good few years I can still see the problems with the film. However seeing it in HD in it's correct ratio its also possible to recognise the moments of genius in it as well.
Christine has sequences that stand out as Carpenter at the top of his game. The attack on the gas station and Christine's pursuit of one of the bully's down the highway while on fire is genuinely breathtaking. Keith Gordon is Great as Arnie and the score is excellent. The problems all seem to stem from turning a somewhat weighty and detailed novel into a feature length movie. Arnies corruption by Christine feels a little rushed. His Romance with Leigh seems to just happen and doesn't develop. This might have worked if the film had opted to keep things from his Buddy Dennis perspective but we get a whole lot of scenes with Arnie on his own so it feels a little muddles.
So from a storytelling perspective its a little muddled which lets it down but its still a nice little film and worth checking out.

Starman

Feeling a lot like Carpenter looked at the Scmaltzy crap people were flocking to in the 80's in a bid to feel good about themselves, Starman is probably one of Carpenters most commercial pictures. If your after a good romance plot its still decent, and Carpenter delivers something very watchable and probably better than a lot of the films it was inspired by. However I still could not shrug off the feeling of diabetic coma after watching it.

Big trouble in little China.

After scoring his first commercial success in a while and not alienating 80's critics in the process, Carpenter was given Carte blanche once again to deliver a film that was more in keeping with his sensibilities. He teams up again with Kurt Russell to deliver an action comedy inspired by his love of kung fu pictures. Russell plays Greenhorn Jack Burton, a trucker who spends his down times gambling down the docks. After his buddy Wang chi owes him $2000 Jack is keen not to let Wang out of his sight and sticks with him. Heading to the airport to collect Wang's new bride they are attacked by the lords of death, an chinese street gang. Jack then finds himself unwittingly lured into the plot of a mystical martial arts Odyssey which he navigates through bravado and sheer luck.
Big Trouble is possibly Carpenters most intentionally funny picture. Its still the one that makes me chuckle the most. Especially Jack Burton whose cocky overconfidence is hysterical. "we may be trapped" is one of the funniest moments in the film for me. It got pretty much buried by the studio at the time who were worried about the 'white saviour' narrative and perceived racial insensitivity. I genuinely feel that this was more a case of the people watching it not really getting it as Jack Burton is clearly a buffoon and is essentially a sidekick who thinks he's the hero.

Prince of Darkness

After Big Trouble essentially got buried by its studio, Carpenter returned to lower budgeted pictures. Here he draws inspirations from John Wyndham and Nigel Kneale to create an apocalyptic Horror about ancient superstitions filtered through 20th century rationalism. Quatermass and the Pit is one definite inspiration as like in that film an ancient alien artefact is unearthed that has links to early Judeo christian myth. Here its a strange green vial of antimatter that has been kept secret by the church for thousands of years. A group of physicists are brought in to study the vial and discover that it has intelligence and appears to be waking up.
One central complaint about Prince is that it essentially becomes a 'zombie movie' in its final act. Honestly I think that's ok as Carpenter is clearly working within a budget and it mostly works for the picture. The single location keeps things contained and he uses it well. The score as usual is great, here genuinely eerie and suspenseful and Carpenter brings back some old hands including the always brilliant Donald Pleasance.

They Live

Carpenter delivers an old school science fiction picture with clear B-movie aesthetic and then infuses it with radical political theory to create a satire on eighties capitalism that feels even more relevant today as it was back then.
Rowdy Roddy Piper plays John Nada (nothing, nobody...geddit!) a construction worker who heads to the big city to find work after small town and rural America's industry has been decimated by hyper capitalism and Globalism. While the shanty town he's living in is being raided, Nada discovers sunglasses that when worn reveal the world as it truly is. He discovers aliens have weaponised Capitalism and exploited human greed to covertly enslave the human race and asset strip the planet. After getting into a brutal fight with his friend Frank he gets him to put the glasses on as well and the pair of them end up joining the human resistance.
Released in 1988, a year after Oliver Stone launched a blistering attack on Reganomics with Wall Street, They live is a smart and witty satire that makes its points without becoming preachy or too self important. Even if you don't subscribe to its politics its still a highly entertaining picture. The near ten minute street fight between Nada and Frank that pushes itslef into absurdity is a good example. At face value its a comic scene but beneath the surface it could also be viewed as exposing the futility of racial conflict under an economic system that screws over both sides.

The Monster Club (1981)

A final throw of the dice from Amicus kingpin Milton Subotsky. Although not an Amicus production, that company's and Subotsky's finger prints are all over it, sadly this anthology is a mere imitation of what came before.

The fact the whole thing seems played for laughs rather than scares doesn't help although it is nice to see Vincent Price and John Carradine bantering in the wrap around story - pity about the godawful Monster Club setting. It only needed Christopher Lee in his horrendous Howling II shades and the nightmare would be complete... and not in a good way.

Of the three tales on offer The Shadmock, The Vampires and The Ghouls, only the latter shows any promise as movie director Stuart Whitman scouts locations and comes across a small isolated village, reminiscent of City of the Dead's Whitewood. This is the only story told with any horrific verve and the only one worth revisiting, although it has to be said the bureaucratic vampire killers - Donald Pleasence, Anthony Valentine and Neil McCarthy - are a delightful comedy team throughout the middle story. First offering The Shadmock is instantly forgettable.

I really like 'The Monster club', i think the jokey tone gives it it's own vibe and separates it from other anthology's of the time.

Only the 2nd story is actually lighthearted itself.

The Shadmock story i always remembered the most as a kid, (used to watch it every time it showed up on T.V so it's a nostalgia thing too) think it was the fried cat that stuck in my head.

I even like the songs, so i must be a no hoper really.;)

Being an arty type kid i always liked the monster hierarchy illustration too.

Attachment 199087

That part had me with my head in my hands.

Werevamps and Vamgoos ... :frusty:

Yeah but Vincent Price says it with such relish.:cool:

And an awful lot of ham to go with the relish.