Cool Hand Luke. 1967.

Paul Newman plays Lucas "Luke" ex soldier now a convict sentenced to two years hard labour and becomes a anti-hero among the prisoners. George Kennedy who got a oscar for his performance and rightly so, portrays the main guy every prisoner follows and ends up forming a friendship with Luke after a beat down and a card game. The film does come with it's moments of hardship with the wardens trying to break every man yet Luke seems to be the one they can't break even after some escapes and gets caught. There is one good comical moment with the prisoners out working and a blondie decides to tease them all with a wet sponge and a car that you know the guys are going to get hot under the collar a bit too much. Certainly a masterpiece for acting and plenty of familiar faces in one movie.

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Trauma (1993)

Asia Argento plays a troubled young woman who may hold the key to tracking down the serial killer who murdered her parents.

Sadly her semi romantic relationship with local journalist Christopher Rydell slows proceedings to a standstill and turns an average Argento thriller into a bore fest.

Even the murder set pieces that Dario Argento is renowned for are lacking mainly because the same technique - decapitation using an electric powered wire garrote - which although cool the first time becomes somewhat samey with each subsequent use.

The film looks terrible in that awful tv movie way, in fact it looks far worse than Dario's actual tv movies ; Door into Darkness, Masters of Horror and Do You Like Hitchcock?

For me this is comfortably Argento's worst film.

I have always had a bit of a soft spot for Trauma especially with Brad Dourif's death.

That's the only one that's not by garotte. Same result though. :lol:

I like Trauma too, I?ve watched it twice since getting the Vinegar Syndrome blu last year.

The Blu probably doesn't look like it was recorded off the Hallmark Channel unlike the Tartan dvd.

I've always liked Trauma as well.
I mean, come on it's fackin' Piper Laurie on a mental one, and i'm sure the "Nicolas" thing as her head rolls off is reminiscent of Pit and the Pendulum, another Poe reference.

Anyway Dracula, The Card Player, Giallo and Phantom (which for me is Dario's ultimate shitfest) are all inferior to this one.

Get a grip.:lol:

There are loads of silent films I would highly recommend, from Vampyr to M, Battleship Potemkin to The Thief of Baghdad, Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans to Intolerance, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari to Der Golum, and more light-hearted films such as City Lights, The General, and Safety Last.

Actually, looking at the silent films made by Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Fritz Lang, Sergei Eisenstein, F.W. Murnau, D.W. Griffith, and Victor Sjostrom unearths a huge range of themes, techniques, and genres.

It's one of my dad's favourite films as well, a stylish, good-humoured crowdpleaser, and one that unsurprisingly won many plaudits for for its direction, acting, screenplay, editing, music, costumes, cinematography, and art direction. It was the big winner at the 46th Academy Awards, taking seven Oscars from its 10 nominations.

Sorry, but Piper Laurie being in it means nothing to me. I think i can count what i've seen her in on one hand - The Hustler, Carrie, Trauma, Twin Peaks and The Thorn Birds. And, because of The Thorn Birds it's probably more than you know her for.:tongue1:

Oh and Laurie herself said in 1997, Trauma was terrible, so much so that she never bothered to watch it.

I always just really liked her due to Carrie being a favourite since a kid, I guess there's something about unhinged older women in films that i dig.
Billie Whitelaw in The Omen and Bette Davis in Whatever happened to Baby Jane being two other prime examples.

Laurie is also in The Faculty and features in Ruby another goofy 70's horror film that used to turn up on late night TV a lot, it's not a great film but it is quite warped and she's good in it, i've always liked it.

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

The Internship (2013)

Starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as recently laid-off salesmen who after somehow getting on an internship at Google's San Francisco headquarters then have to compete with much younger and more technically skilled applicants for a job at the internet giant.

Normally i'd run a mile from a Vaughn / Wilson film, at least back in the 00's when they were at the peak of their powers but i picked this up for 50p at Poundland sometime last year as i wanted a spare Blu-ray case and last night actually bothered to watch it.

I genuinely found it really refreshing even if it is a celluloid cliche. In fact it's practically a remake of American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007) but the two stars are so likable and easy going in this and never irritating at all. Even at two hours for the extended unrated cut which has plenty of nudity and swearing apparently denied it's theatrical release it never ran out of steam and i thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It's fair to say that Wilson and Vaughn impress with their interpersonal skills and team building rather than anything in the technical area.

The haters will say that it's basically a two hour advert for Google and it's hard to argue against that. On another viewing it's possible i might think it utter corporate sucking shite, but last night i was just in the right mood for this film without knowing it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dune: Part Two

Just back from seeing this at the cinema and I'm so glad that, unlike the first one, I did watch it on the big screen because it is the sort of film that is a completely different experience than when you watch it at home.

I was completely engrossed in the story (and had to be because I've never read the book), the acting from the all-star cast is universally brilliant, and Denis Villeneuve again shows that he is a visionary, a filmmaker with a rare gift for creating astonishing spectacle which is both visually amazing and emotionally engaging.

I don't have time to write a full review right now because I'm having something to eat before going out again.

When the film finished, I was like that kid in The Incredibles who watched the Parr family survive when a plane fell on them and explode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldk8wNF2Bi8

I have the day off work tomorrow so I'm going to see Dune pt 2 and I'm really excited, like you I didn't see the first instalment on the cinema screen and I regret it, but I have watched my 4k bluray 4 times :lol:

I've seen the first one twice at home, most recently last night in preparation for going to watch the second part today.

Bring on part three!:pop2:

Is it the kind of film where you *have* to see part one before you see part two?

Unless you've read the book I'd say so, it's a confusing story even if you have read the book. Part 1 is excellent anyway.

Is Dune a recommended book?

They have it in Asda now with a new cover at a fiver. Or 2 for ?9. I could get The Exorcist as well.

Loads of people think it's one of the best Sci-Fi books ever written, but an equal amount of people think it's awful :lol: You won't know which person you are until you read it haha.

(I love it)

I was looking at a copy in WHSmith today funny enough. I did have one many moons ago, not that I ever read it. Was far too deep for me at the time.

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I find that relationship quite touching and a highlight of the film. Sorry. :) Having said that, Trauma does probably remind me more of a Brian De Palma movie than a Dario Argento one.

It's a strange one because he lifts elements off his own movies (Deep Red, Tenebre, even the lakeside house reminds of Phenomena) yet like you say it feels more like a De Palma effort.

I don?t mind TRAUMA. It?s not among his very best, but I still find it pretty watchable. For me, Dario?s worst film is GIALLO - it?s absolutely f*cking dreadful.

Your scaring me Mojo, I got that one on my watchlist

Ha ha! Only my opinion - you might like it!

The Phantom of the Opera (1998)

A series of terrifying accidents and brutal murders leave a bloody trail into the subterranean caverns of a Paris Opera house. Below the theatre lurks a man raised by creatures of the underworld who falls for a young opera singer (Asia Argento) when he hears her voice.

Dario Argento's take on the classic Gaston Leroux tale is a luscious epic of Grand Guignol, rich in detail - the sets and underground caverns are stunning - and dripping with grue, with a lovely score from the maestro Ennio Morricone to give things an even more poetic feel.

Argento takes the well worn story down some refreshing watery tunnels especially in the look of his phantom. Gone is the deformed masked composer and in his place is a dashing and enigmatic Julian Sands whose orphan upbringing by rats has given him strange telepathic powers. Powers which of course he uses to put the charming singer (I'd argue Asia has never been better than her performance here) centre stage.

I'm not going to lie. I don't particularly like The Phantom of the Opera. Two colour experimental 'Masque of the Red Death' sequence in the 1925 silent version aside the rest are boring, although Robert Englund's straight horror version from 1989 has it's merits. Dario Argento's effort is by far the best as far as i'm concerned as it does something different with a dull concept yet remains a Gothic extravaganza.

The live stage version by Andrew Lloyd Webber is very good

After Hours. 1985.

Paul a computer programmer leads a boring dull life, work, eat, sleep repeat until one night he decides to go out, meets a oddball of people and then becomes a wanted man by a vigilante group.

Griffin Dunne probably best know as Jack in An American Werewolf In London plays the hapless programmer who meets up with Rosanna Arquette and then his long night in the open world becomes a somewhat laughable bad dream. This film really puts you on the edge as Paul just wants to go home and you really hope he does but what can happen does happen. Just when you think he can catch a break and be hopeful, nothing ever goes smooth for him. Martin Scorsese has made great movies over the years and this is one of his underrated movies, with John Heard, Teri Garr, Linda Fiorentino, Catherine O'Hara, Will Patton, Robert Plunket being some of the people Paul meets.

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I loved After Hours but I was definitely feeling stressed out, poor guy just wants to get home haha.

Spider. 2002.

A man recently released from a psychiatric unit goes to stay in a halfway house close to where he was brought up and slowly lives out his childhood and the trauma that came along.

Ralph Fiennes plays the adult Dennis "Spider" Cleg who tries to fit back in society and slowly slips back to his childhood memories with Gabriel Byrne and Miranda Richardson as the parents, who witnesses his father's adultery that leads to murder and a new woman in his life. The film is a bit of a slow burner but does manage to keep your eyes on the screen as you do want to find out what actually unfolded in Spider's childhood and how the film will pan out in the end, but does make you wonder if everything we see did happen or are you looking through the eyes of a mentally disturbed person.

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EVIL JUDGEMENT - There's a smidge of discord about this Canadian giallo / slasher that had me intrigued. The characters are 'off', events roll by at random as if in search of another script - a tramp pisses in his soup, a hooker and her friend do a jig in a restaurant window just cos it might perk things up for a couple of mins. It's about a down-on-her-luck dancer who's always blowing up with her schmuck of a boyfriend; when her best mate convinces her she'd be better off on the game, they head off to a big mansion for a threesome with a judge followed by some throat slashing. Pace is baggy and the tone is out of whack - sometimes it feels like a domestic drama that's been gate-crashed by an Argento wannabe with a thing about blue gel, but then it swerves into police conspiracy and judicial corruption (and back). An odd fish, but I like odd fish.

NIGHT SCHOOL - Another slasher. This time the killer has a gimmick - they're into biker gear and collecting heads. If nothing else, you should stick it to the end to hear their motive, it's hilarious. 'Night School' takes a fairly by-the-numbers approach to what was a tired formula even by 1981, weaving a police procedural and a subplot about a lecturer's many affairs around a set of slightly anaemic kills. It has a few cards up its sleeve. The gore may be lacking, but there's a theatricality to the way some of the kills are set up that brings the occasional note of strangeness, with odd scenes such as the roundabout head chop, or the one where a severed head floats slowly to the bottom of the tank in a darkened aquarium. The presence of people like Rachel Ward lends an air of fake class, and there's something really nice about the overall look, wintry browns framing twisted trees and Hitchcockian staircases. If you want a full throttle slasher look somewhere else, but this is a competent murder mystery that hides its derivative nature and basic silliness behind a few tasteful moves.

It was directed bu Ken Hughes, who also helmed the 1967 version of 'Casino Royale', 'Chitty Chitty bang Bang' and... um... 'Sextette'!

The Killing Fields. 1985.

Based on the Khmer Rouge revolution in Cambodia, and the memoirs of American journalist Sydney Schanberg trying to escape the war torn country which is easy for him but not for his companion Dith Pran.

Director Roland Joffe` did an wonderful job in exposing the detailed facts so simply in the film, with the U.S. Consul knowing about a bombing and trying to cover it up, Craig T. Nelson plays a very unsympathetic prick in this that he knows what is going on, how many have been killed and just takes a laud back role as if to say "let them kill each other" mood. John Malkovich plays photographer Al Rockoff who captures the victims of the war and accuses his companion of selfishness to win a award.

The film takes place over a period of six years and at times it can be tough to watch but you can never take your eyes off the screen.Sam Waterson and Haing S. Ngor (who won a award for his portaryal) take the main leads and all you can do is root for them to get to safety and find peace. Have the tissues ready for the ending.

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I've never seen it. The Criterion is on my to-buy list. But not at ?22.

I'd never seen it either, I bought the Criterion disc blind, but glad I did I really enjoyed it.

Naked Weapon (2002)

A hugely enjoyable Hong Kong action movie in which young girls are kidnapped and taken to a hidden island run by the mysterious Madam M where they are brutally trained for six years. At the end of their training they fight off against each other with the best three - Charlene, Katt and Jing) selected for assassination missions on male targets. However the assassins soon get noticed by the CIA, including Daniel Wu's rookie, who falls for Charlene which only complicates matters.

Reminiscent of other movies like Besson's Nikita (1990) and schlockier affair such as Bava's Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1965) and 1968's The Blood of Fu Manchu where females are trained as killers for selected male victims. Naked Weapon feels familiar yet it's never tired,and probably comes somewhere in between the serious Nikita and more exploitative other two. In fact it's incredibly good fun with the story easy enough to follow and the leads engaging and interestingly written. The three girls, headed by Maggie Q, are gorgeous and seductive but merciless with it and the many action scenes are intense and beautifully choreographed.

I have the Korean dvd and the image quality looks great with the 5:1 track equally as impressive.

It's was a bit of trivia, that's all

Your actual thoughts on the film or Frankie's views on it would have been more relevant than random trivia.

I thought it was a fun film and the concept of a video nasty from the director of such films as the 1967 version of 'Casino Royale', 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and... um... 'Sextette' was not something I would ever have expected!!

Pointing that out with an opinion on Frankie's review and/or what you thought of Night School would be much more relevant to this thread than a short post with three of the 36 films directed by Ken Hughes, including one ? Casino Royale ? where he was one of five different directors, who only shot a few scenes.

Your comment was of little interest to me, hence my shrugging reaction.