What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[James Morton]

Originally Posted by Handyman Joe

Uzumaki - Time hasn't been kind to this Japanese effort from the heyday of J-horror. Neither as giddily full-on weird as Hausa nor as disturbing as The Grudge, it ends up a rambling succession of scenes many of which are hobbled by amatuerish optical effects. The character of the boyfriend drove me up the wall with his dull monotone although he does get the best scene at the end. I would love to see one of the contempory Asian masters have a go at this as the concept is still pretty great.

i've got the R0 Elite dvd of this weird jap film UZUMAKI
but its a very good horror, i like the scenes with the kid who only goes to school when its raining and you see him like a snail crawling up the building
and everybody is obsessed with anything spiral, which the title means

[antmumford]

I'm having an Arrow Video day today and watched Cat O Nine Tails this morning then Tenebrae this afternoon along with all the extras. Both first times for me and enjoyed them a lot. They look fantastic in HD too, even with the fluctuating artificial grain on Tenebrae, such crisp sharp colourful images. Well impressed.
The Goblin live in Glasgow gave me goosebumps all over, how I'd love to have been there.
Is there any way of seeing this whole gig rather than just 15 minutes?

Next up is Maniac Cop, been looking forward to seeing this for ages.

[pedromonkey]

Had a week off from work this week so spent time watching new stuff and some of the stuff i've not gotten around to watching yet..

SUPER 8: On second viewing i found i loved this film even more, such a great throwback to the Amblin pictures of the late 70s and 80s, and with alot of references and homages to many different films. Great performances from all involved especially the kids. My only problem with the film is the actual monster/alien itself, the CGI really doesn't work in the film when almost everything else is done practically. Still a bloody good film.

CRAZY STUPID LOVE: Sweet natured comedy drama about a divorcing couple with Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. Seen better but it was good. Ryan Gosling continues to show that he's a better actor than most and Emma Stone is just lovely. I think i prefer Carell when he's making these kind of films and not full on slapstick comedies.

WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?: Another romantic comedy, this was alright, nothing special and it's from the same people who made the god awful 27 Dresses. It was amusing and like most had a predictable storyline and ending but it passed the time.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO: I've had the original Swedish trilogy on dvd for a while now and haven't gotten around to watching them until now. This film was brilliant, just a really good, solid murder mystery. Great performances from all involved especially Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander. Just a great film.

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE: The follow up to the above is much shorter and a little bit far fetched compared to the film but it's still a bloody enjoyable thriller with a lot of secrets not answered in the first film answered here.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by DryJack

Watched "When the wind blows". An animation about an elderly couple (Jim and Hilda)during the build up to a nuclear attack. Jim follows the instructions in his Protect and Survive leaflet to the letter, fully believing it will keep him and his wife safe. Even after the attack he consults his leaflet and expects help to arrive from the government (which, of course, never happens). I first watched it back in the Eighties when it had more relevance but I really enjoyed rewatching it. The animation, although dated, still has a certain charm and the movie is both funny and tragic.

I never wept when The Snowman melted, but I think I managed a couple of sniffles for this moving take on eighties post-nuke Brit misery... but if you really want to get into that stuff there are other avenues. Have you seen 'Threads'? It's the single most depressing film I've ever seen. Positively the bleakest. No genre flick has ever come close... not even the likes of 'Salo'. A very personal opinion, but one shared by many.

[pedromonkey]

just finished South Park: Bigger Longer And Uncut on Blu, Freaking love this film, everytime i watch it, it's still funny and the soundtrack is brilliant. The transfer on blu is fantastic and the audio commentary is hilarious.

[nekromantik]

Just seen Gus Van Sant's Restless.
This was very good! Its about this lad who goes to random people's funerals for fun but then meets this girl who he finds out has cancer. She only has 3 months to live but they fall in love. He also talks to a ghost who was a Japanese kamakazi.

The plot may not seem that interesting but rest assured it is a exceptional film. Quite emotional and deep. It faces the main characters feelings towards death after what had happened in his past.

The lad is Dennis Hoppers son and his acting is incredible in this movie! He is one to look out for now. The girl Annie's acting is very good too. I didnt know this but Henry Hopper was shooting this movie while Dennis Hopper was battling cancer. Van Sant showed a rough cut to Dennis before he passed away and he said he was very impressed with his son in the movie. Van Sant then dedicated the movie to Dennis.

Go watch it! I dont normally enjoy love stories but this was very good, no ordinary love story which is filled with cheesy lines and stories.

[Crimson Blade]

Decided to give Dario Argento's Phantom of The Opera another go yesterday, and yes, it's still as bad as i remember.
Hard to believe that this is the same guy who once directed the stunning Suspiria and Deep Red.
So sad.

[Gojirosan]

Originally Posted by pedromonkey

SUPER 8: On second viewing i found i loved this film even more, such a great throwback to the Amblin pictures of the late 70s and 80s, and with alot of references and homages to many different films. Great performances from all involved especially the kids. My only problem with the film is the actual monster/alien itself, the CGI really doesn't work in the film when almost everything else is done practically. Still a bloody good film.

This is shaping up to be one of the biggest "Love Or Hate" films of recent times. I don't think I've heard anyone say anything middling about it. Love or Hate!

[Handyman Joe]

Originally Posted by Baseball Fury

I'm off work sick, so today I've watched two BD's I've been meaning to get round to.

First up, Al Reinert's majestic For All Mankind (MoC) - An incredible film, some of the imagery in it was so beautiful that at one point I felt tears welling up. Space, eh? What a place.

After a visit from postie with my Neo Giallo Collection (£5.79! Still can't believe it!), I lined up my second film of the day, which was Gore Vidal/Tinto Brass/Bob Guccione's Caligula (Arrow Video). To be honest, it was a bit of a turd. Peter O'Toole wanders round chewing up the scenery, Malcolm McDowell alternates between skipping round like Alan Carr and acting in a full length version of Alex DeLarge's sickbed fantasy and the whole thing looks like the DP dipped his camera in one of the numerous tubs of KY Jelly laying around before rolling. In case you haven't realised, I wasn't a fan.

Confession time - Caligula is my favourite guilty pleasure - I just love the sheer grandiosity of it - it actually evokes the madness of Rome in its epic folly. Be sure to listen to the Malcolm McDowell commentary which is one of the best I've ever heard - what a brilliant raconteur this guy is. His Tinto Brass/John Geilgud impressions are worth the price of the disc on their own, seriously.

[Paul@TheOverlook]

If you like McDowell and haven't already seen his one-man show Never Apologise (concentrates on his collaborative relationship with Lindsay Anderson) it's on DVD and come highly recommended.