What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[troggi]

Y'all got me sidetracked there! I only came on the computer to say "I've just watched The Tall Man and I am suitably impressed. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Laugier's work if it compares to that. A fine film! 14/10 for a gritty post-industrial wasteland movie.

[troggi]

geekdog.jpg
"Kong Island" 1968

My geography isn't brilliant, are there any islands that you can visit on an overland safari setting out from Nairobi? No! Thought not! Especially ones which have Maccaws (South America) and Umbrella Cockatoos (Indonesia).

A mad scientist and his henchman are making gorillas remote controlled slaves. A bloke who looks a bit like George Lasenby with muscles is after him (and his henchman) because of past misdemeanour's and because he's nicked his girlfriend.

There that was easy! As usual picture quality is not good but at least you can follow a conversation in this one. From looking at the titles I thought that this might have been a TV movie but the picture quality leads me to believe that it was filmed on celluloid not tape.

"Kong Island" was an entertaining romp that gave a new spin to a clichéd idea, apes as slaves. It had been done before and would be done again with better effect in the "Planet of the Apes" series. 12/10 for the "Sacred Monkey"

The Sacred Monkey

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

I watched CLOUD ATLAS on BD last night and thought it was great.
Really clever and original.Half the fun is picking out which actor is which!

Also;
HANDGUN on DVD from Network,nothing too brilliant,but it's great that Network keep digging up these lost films.Nice transfer.

THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF-well worth the HD upgrade.

I see Network have switched to those slim cases.....

Ain't caught Foxy B yet,but I was greatly amused by the booklet.....look at the pics in it and look where every male's eyes with Ms Grier are directed....

[Paul@TheOverlook]

Last night I saw the new De Palma film, Passion. It's a great return to the thriller for which he is synonymous. Lot's of great camerawork, editing and even spit screen. There's a fabulous Pino Donaggio score and the story (adapted from the French film Love Crime) is really rather good. Well worth checking out.

[troggi]

geekdog.jpg
"Bride of the Gorilla" 1951

Now that's much better, decent picture and good sound quality. And, talking about quality, what a quality cast including the great Lon Chaney, Jr. and Raymond Burr. I like a good spin on the lycanthrope legend, this one has the well-built frame of Burr turning into a gorilla at night and going on murderous rampages, just like Hollywood gorillas often do!

On the plus side: the director and writer, Curt Siodmak (well respected sci-fi writer), didn't try to "convince us" that we were in Africa by showing creatures from completely different continents, the script didn't appear to have any obvious "holes" in it, and the acting was top drawer with the cast actually appearing to "believe" in the film.

17 /10 for having a better gorilla suit than "Kong Island"!

[Handyman Joe]

I've been on a 6 week Rainer Werner Fassbinder binge - seen pretty much everything that's commercially available, about 30 odd movies - trust me, the man was a genius, I found them totally addictive. The same actors pop up again and again and they're all great, from Hanna Shygulla to Kurt Raab to (my favourite) Margit Christensen. Nearly all films are scored by Peer Raben - for me the most underrated name in the movies, a Morricone of the German film industry. I would draw your attention to the Second Sight release of Berlin Alexanderplatz, which is superb. I think the scene in the whacked out 112 minute epilogue featuring a human slaughterhouse scored to Kraftwerk's Radioactivity is as mind blowing as it gets. Next favourite - The Third Generation. Or maybe the scene where Brigitte Mira dances in the African restaurant with Ali in Fear Eats the Soul. It's all good - if you're unfamiliar with RWF give him a go, you could end up like me, hooked.

[pedromonkey]

Had a bit of Star Wars binge since saturday.

STAR WARS EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE: Lucas' first director outing since 1977 is uneven and a bit silly but ultimately enjoyable, the Yoda puppet however looks very cheap compared to the puppet used in the original films. Great score by John Williams but a confusing political plot and some seriously bad dialogue and wooden acting.

STAR WARS EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES: The worst film in the Star Wars Saga. Bad acting, bad dialogue, tooooooo much CGI and quite bad for 2002 considering ILM are supposedly at the forefront of visual FX. The film also has the start of one of the most unbelievable romances in movie history with zero chemistry between Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. The lack of sets and practical VFX really hurts the film making it very synthetic. Not a good Movie.

STAR WARS EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH: A marked improvement over the second and the darkest of the three newer prequels. The film returns to more more practical FX and sets instead of green screening everything. Still suffers from Lucas' wooden dialogue, bad acting and ridiculous ending. Still much better than numero 2.

STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE: This is where it all started, a fantastic adventure that skips on all the politics of the new trilogy, introduces us to Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca (well he was in Ep3) and the most bad ass space smuggler this side of the galaxy, Han 'Indiana Jones' Solo. Great special FX using models, miniature sets, matte paintings and some truly awesome space battle photography. Classic.

STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: The best film in the series, a tightly scripted action adventure with a great final duel, the introduction of Yoda and the opening 40 minute battle for hoth. What more can I say?

STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI: the final film in the Star Wars saga, Luke's a fully fledged Jedi, Han is a general, Lando is a General, It's A Trap and ewok, those furry little bastards that helped destroy the galactic empire. It's a great action film but does suffer from some silly moments. The final confrontation between Luke and Vader is one of best the sword fights committed to screen. Great fun. The biggest problem i have is the new version with Hayden Christensen inserted into the end shot and Sebastian Shaw Removed.

A break from Star Wars with a little Post Apocalypse action with...

THE DAY: set 10 years into an open war with america, a group of survivors hole up in a seemingly abandoned house only to find it a trap for a group of cannibals. Pretty good action horror flick although it's shot with such a washed out look it looks almost black and white with the occasional saturated colour reminding you this isn't black and white. Not bad, comes across like a post apocalyptic Assault On Precinct 13 and The Road.

[trebor8273]

Was going to watch dawn of the dead, what is the Argento like? But with pedromonkeys post might start watching the Star Wars films instead.

Recent viewings

Nightmare on elm street not much that I can't say about this film that's not already been said before. The best of the bunch and johnny depp's death still has to be one of the best and OTT kills in horror. 9.5/10

The 7th voyage of sinbad. Good little movie, but the star is and always shall be ray harryhausen special effects. Give me he's special effects any day of the week over today's CGI. 7/10 special effects 10/10

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

Was going to watch dawn of the dead, what is the Argento like?

The Argento cut is much more action oriented than the Romero ones and has a different score. My favourite version is the theatrical cut but, every so often, I'll watch Argento's 'European Version'.

[Slippery Jack]

I watched Jennifer Lynch's Chained last night. I thought it was pretty good. Vincent D'Onofrio is always watchable, and I thought the movie blender mix of Markus Schleinzer's Michael and Maniac worked quite well. My only major gripe was the ending, which threw in a silly twist and some unecessary and very unsatisfying melodrama . . .