What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by oaxaca

Watched NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD earlier, a fabulously trippy 1985 fantasy anime by Kenji Miyazawa. It was a one off screening at the Electric Cinema in Birmingham (which claims to be the oldest working cinema in the UK, built in 1909 in art deco style - its a cool place). They managed to borrow a 35mm print from a recent Belgian film festival.

The story itself I won't go into but its a bizarre but brilliant film, deep and philosophical, focussed on space, death, our place in the universe etc, but never as heavy as say Ghibli's GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. I can't work out whether it is meant for kids or adults!? Probably both. The artwork/cinematography is magnificent, I LOVE old skool hand-drawn anime.

Lucky!

Really wanted to see this for a while. Theres a Region 1 release thats silly money. The opportunity to catch it on the big screen is one i'd have trouble turning down.

Would also like to catch the Galaxy express films or Arcadia of my youth or any other Leiji Matsumoto stuff on the big screen.

Space adventure Cobra would be cool as well.!

[JoshuaKaitlyn]

Last one from 1952:
Le Plaisir another one from Max Ophüls but unlike his earlier La Ronde this didn't do much for me! Just seemed to be much about nothing really!

[SShaw]

Second and final day of Fantasy Film Nights in Hamburg began with

Wolf Creek 2 which I skipped in favour of a lie-in as I saw it a couple of weeks ago at Fright Fest Glasgow.

Green Inferno Eli Roth's homage to the cannibal films of the 70's and 80's. A film I had been looking forward to seeing since Roth discussed it in Glasgow last year. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I had hoped.

The Returned perhaps the weakest film of the fest, and the only one with a guest, this is a rather disappointing melodrama, a zombie film with no zombies. The Fest worked very hard to get this film, so I must have missed something. I have it on Spanish blu-ray so will give it another chance in a couple of weeks.

Snowpiercer Sci-fi action set on an earth that has entered a new ice-age and the remaining humans endlessly circle the planet on a train. Need to think about this one. My immediate reaction is that its not very good. But I am still thinking about it.

and the Fest concluded with Witching and Bitching another film I had been waiting to see for some time. It starts off with a demented robbery and police chase which sets the standard for the rest of the film very high. It does"t quite manage to sustain the pace but this is perhaps Inglesia's most accessible film yet and really should be seen. So a near tie for best film of the fest, but Dead Snow just shades it.

A great festival. I am looking forward to September already.

[antmumford]

Originally Posted by SShaw

Snowpiercer Sci-fi action set on an earth that has entered a new ice-age and the remaining humans endlessly circle the planet on a train. Need to think about this one. My immediate reaction is that its not very good. But I am still thinking about it.

That's a shame to hear as it's my most anticipated film of the year. Early reviews on imdb people are saying it's a masterpiece and one of the best films they've ever seen. Oh well, still can't wait just to make up my own mind

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by SShaw

The Returned perhaps the weakest film of the fest, and the only one with a guest, this is a rather disappointing melodrama, a zombie film with no zombies. The Fest worked very hard to get this film, so I must have missed something. I have it on Spanish blu-ray so will give it another chance in a couple of weeks.

Is it anything to do with the excellent French TV series of the same name?

"The Returned" (2012)

[SShaw]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Is it anything to do with the excellent French TV series of the same name?

"The Returned" (2012)

No, not to my knowledge (and the synopsis of the T.V. series does't really match).

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by SShaw

No, not to my knowledge (and the synopsis of the T.V. series does't really match).

It was your description of the film being a zombie film without zombies which made me think of the TV series because that is about the dead being returned (hence the title!), but they aren't "typical" zombies.

[SShaw]

The T.V. series sounds a lot better than the film

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by antmumford

That's a shame to hear as it's my most anticipated film of the year. Early reviews on imdb people are saying it's a masterpiece and one of the best films they've ever seen. Oh well, still can't wait just to make up my own mind

Mate, it's Bong Joon-Ho, of course it's going to be good!

[Demoncrat]

Watched Murder Site (aka Death Tube) (Yohei Fuduka, 2010, Artsmagic UK dvd)) A film from the people who brought you Grotesque and Tokyo Gore School so the cover says...... Sadly this film doesn't "live up" to those heady heights. Neither dramatically meaty enough to retain my attention or violent enough to hold any fascination. the last story in Cradle Of Fear did it so much quicker as well, ho hum.

Full Metal Jacket (1988, Stanley Kubrick, WB UK dvd). The director's supposed "coldness" comes to the fore here, based on Gustav Hasford's rather terse The Short Timers, a film about the process of dehumanisation that the army calls "basic training" cough. Famous now for the bathroom scene, I will not pander here to any freudian piffle about how many pivotal scenes in SK's films are set in toilets!!! (3?) Still have never seen this bus that you can see apparently in the background either......

The Iron Rose/The Nude Vampire (Jean Rollin, 73/70, Dutch Encore dvds) Another couple of lovely days at the beach. How I wish JR had done Bagpuss! With the amount of found objects in these films, Emily could have had a field day
Ahem.