What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Paul@TheOverlook]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Haha - no, let's not. That's really getting into the arena of the weird. I still can't figure out what father would cast his daughter in such a role. Those crazy Italians!

Just mental, isn't it?

[Frankie Teardrop]

BRAIN DEAD - With Bills Paxton and Pullman. A neuroscientist ends up sucked into a vortex of conspiracy and mindwarp when heavy corporate types lean on him to operate on the brain of a psychotic physicist. Much 'dream within a dream... or is it?' mise-en-abyme action follows. Doesn't hit the nightmarish heights of 'Videodrome' - not as much of a headf*ck, not chilly or dissociated enough in that familiar Cronenbergian way - but still, a good solid early 90s B-movie with plenty of twistiness and elements of conceptual interest for once. Deserves to be better known.
SPLICE - Was quite surprised, expecting nothing more than a mediocre 'Species' rip-off - how wrong I was - interesting meditation on 'biology is destiny', slickly made although I thought it morphed clunkily from a highly nuanced exploration of the dynamics of caring for mutant offspring into darker, more exploitative material, some of which seemed surprisingly painful and weirdly twisted eg incorporates some oedipal roughness towards the end amongst other dubious 'pleasures'. But even this awkward tonal shift seemed to work. Freaky movie - I liked.
KEEPSAKE - Another one were I was expecting some time-filling blandness and was pleasantly surprised to find harsher latter-day exploitation (well, in a HMV type purchase kind of way, we're not talking 'Forced Entry' or anything). Stranded driver is captured by a tongueless killer who exposes her to all manner of degradation until the 'shocking twist' ending when it's revealed she's a... find out for yourselves if you're that bothered. Enjoyable (sort of) nastiness which appears a little laughable in trying to back-peddle on its own misogyny... think I've mentioned in these pages before how surprised I am that this stuff's so mainstream these days... all that aside, there's a weird disjointedness and loads of 'look, you're just not going to resolve this now pointless-seeming narrative strand, are you? It's just an excuse for another throwaway image isn't it? ISN'T IT?' type moments which kept me interested but which no doubt many others will find tiresome.

[gag]

Went pics to watch 21 jump street not a fantastic film but a reasonable watch all the same ...TBH never heard of it until the recent comp on here is the tv series worth a buy

Triangle EH i just didnt get it or i wasnt paying to much atention...

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I've been meaning to check out We Need to Talk About Kevin for a while now.

It's a great film which really should have been represented at the Academy Awards, with Tilda Swinton up for Best Actress and Lynne Ramsay for Best Director. I saw it quite a while ago in order to write a review and, as I haven't done that yet, I want to watch it again and begin the review process over again.

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

It's a great film which really should have been represented at the Academy Awards, with Tilda Swinton up for Best Actress and Lynne Ramsay for Best Director. I saw it quite a while ago in order to write a review and, as I haven't done that yet, I want to watch it again and begin the review process over again.

Its a great film, but a tough watch. I know plenty of people who hated it. Then again films like this that divide their audience are more appealing to me than films that go for a broad mass-appeal.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

That's a good point, although sometimes the masses are right (The Dark Knight, for example). It's not quite like Roy's T-shirt from an episode of The IT Crowd, which says 'Nothing Is Any Good If Other People Like It', but there is a great deal of truth there!

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by keirarts

Its a great film, but a tough watch. I know plenty of people who hated it. Then again films like this that divide their audience are more appealing to me than films that go for a broad mass-appeal.

I'm one!! Shocking and confrontational it isnt. From the minute you see Kevin etc. Laughed at it and not with it (ala THC2) IMO!!!

AAAnyway....watched
Stuck (Stuart Gordon, 2007)
liked this rather black little comedy, was good to see Rea in something where he's not an irishman ahem, felt gordon was trying to say something about the job market in america, but gave up and went for humor instead....recommende to people who dont like to be spoonfed a story....unlike the awful

Gnaw (Gregory Mandery, 2008)
what i presume they wanted to make was an English TCM. When all it is is an endless stream of cliched crapola. AVOID unless you're an unrepentant gore whore. Filmed in Eastbourne i see, which is it's only unusual feature IMO.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I watched Snowtown last night.

Hard-hitting and very reminiscent of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer in both style and tone. Also, very well acted and shot with fantastic pacing, which in turn aids to the aura of menace that the film expels.

Also, for such an 'ugly' film, there are some exquisitely beautiful shots of the Australian countryside, which are almost implanted to rip you out of the ugliness, only to throw you right back in moments later. Good stuff.

Highly recommended!

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

On previous viewings I've always found it a decent enough watch, but having the watched the whole Harry saga in quick succession, it becomes apparent it is a lesser sequel. It's still not a bad film and though and I still enjoyed it.

Dirty Harry: **** out of ****
Magnum Force: *** 1/2 out of ****
The Enforcer: *** 1/2 out of ****
Sudden Impact: **** out of ****
The Dead Pool: *** out of ****

One of the best film series ever!

Greetings!

[Gojirosan]

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

Dirty Harry: **** out of ****
Magnum Force: *** 1/2 out of ****
The Enforcer: *** 1/2 out of ****
Sudden Impact: **** out of ****
The Dead Pool: *** out of ****

One of the best film series ever!

Greetings!

I resent the sequels and feel they damn near dilute the magnificence of the initial film. Dirty Harry is a masterpiece. Its politics may jar with mine, but I love it. It would easily make my top 15 of all-time. It is a serious, powerful and expertly constructed bit of Film Noir and deserves all its plaudits and more.

The sequels are so much less. Mere money-grabbing bits of mindless action films - though there is some value in the terrifying police execution squad storyline in Magnum Force. However, it should have been a different character. Magnum Force would have been brilliant if it was not a Dirty Harry film. At the end of the first film the badge goes into the water in disgust. Unquestioningly having Harry back in the force for a series of dumb cop flicks is insulting.

One of the greatest travesties in cinema is that Dirty Harry has sequels for me.