Watched The Filth & the Fury last night, an awesome documentary about the Sex Pistols. Somehow managed to forget that I'd seen it before, but anyhoo...

I love the approach and style that Julien Temple adopts and some of the archive footage is absolutely fascinating - can anyone shine some light on the cartoon bits? Are they genuine?

I also love the fact that all involved are seemingly interviewed individually and in shadow as victims of horrible crimes are on the news.
The conflicting opinions and undisguised contempt and admiration add to the mystique of it all and I reckon the one person who comes off the worst has to be Maclaren, but everyone knows he's a bit (OK a lot) of a twat.

I might give it another whirl later with Temple's commentary.

I then started watching Urotsukodoji: Legend of the Overfiend, which I haven't seen since it came out on VHS. I never realised the UK cut has 45 mins removed!

Anyway it's still absolutely ridiculous and as complicated as I remember, but to be honest since I first saw it, it's totally lost any shock factor as I've watched way more subversive stuff since then.

The music is appallingly cheesy, which I really enjoyed and some of the creature drawings were great, but as far as my small knowledge about the genre extends I think it's definitely one of the lesser animes that I've seen, as it seems more concerned with being provocative at the expense of what could be a fascinating and interesting story. I'm lead to believe it differs greatly from the manga which was created by an excellent story teller and artist although I've yet to find out if these have been translated into English.

God that sounds like I was really down on it. It's great, sexy, violent fun - how about that? ;)

Over christmas i watched a new to me horror film every night. Here's the full list if anyones interested.

Shock Waves, Mardi Gras Massacre , Captain Kronos and Virgin Witch are films i had seen before but not since the early nineties.


December
2nd A Candle for the Devil
3rd Stag Night
4th Puzzle
5th Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter
6th Bloodrayne: The Third Reich
7th Shock Waves
8th Terror Train
9th Ghost Ship (1943)
10th Dance of the Dead
11th Demonia
12th Splice
13th Lake Placid 3
14th Devil
15th Wrong Turn 3. Left for Dead
16th Christopher Roth
17th Pet Sematary
18th Uninhabited
19th Edge of Sanity
20th Black Christmas (1974)
21st Night of the Demon
22nd Madman
23rd Virgin Witch
24th Tales from the Crypt
25th Saint
26th 2001 Maniacs Field of Screams
27th Nightmare
28th Sweatshop
29th Blood Night - The legend of Mary Hatchet
30th Mardi Gras Massacre
31st The Horde

Cool list! I really want to watch at least one new-to-me film a day this year. Have done it so far but can't imagine I'll be able to keep it up with having loads of uni work to do. I have so many unwatched discs that I can't wait to watch.

Nice, only another 362 to go. :nod:

I was fortunate that none of the films were truly awful, well, except Mardi Gras Massacre obviously. One or two (Demonia, The Horde) tried my patience but otherwise a good time was had.

Its my third year of doing this and i hope to continue in another 11 months time. Roll on Christmas 2012. :pop2:

watched The Hunted (1995) last night, a really cool Samurai's Vs Ninja's vs Christopher Lambert film which had a ridiculously cool sword fight on a japanese bullet train. Not an all out action film but i did remind me of Sonny Chiba films from 70s like The Street Fighter and Golgo 13. Recommended for fans of Japanese culture and action films.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ed1995post.jpg

I watched The Hunted not too long ago. Was nice to see it uncut, having been cut in the UK for its vhs release.

didn't think much of TOURIST TRAP but I remember renting a video years ago called LIQUID SKY
it was a weird punk/sci fi/arthouse film but I enjoyed it and bought the dvd but full screen not 2.35:1
since sold it
not a great transfer but its a cult film rhat should have a proper release

I love that sword fight on the Shinkansen, it's something that's always stuck with me. And I like the language barrier relationship between the old fella and Lambert.

I bought this a few months ago on DVD, but haven't actually watched it for years. Might have to remedy that tonight!

Watched Mother last night, Wow! What is it with these South Korean directors? They just seem to know how to make films just the way they should be. Beautifully shot, superbly acted, emotional, funny etc etc the list can go on.
First The Chaser blew me away, then The Good, The Bad and The Weird and then I Saw The Devil turned out to be one of the best films I've ever seen.
It seems to me that every South Korean film has something special about them. Can't wait to see what other offerings they have.

Any suggestions guys? Ones on your "must see" recommendations list? :popcorn:

I don't know that much new stuff, but 'must sees' include:

Save The Green Planet

Bittersweet Life

Memories of Murder

Any of Park Chan Wook's films - I'm guessing your familiar with Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance?

And the films of Kim Ki Duk in particular 3 Iron, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring Again, Bad Guy, The Isle and Address Unknown

Seen them all except the Kim Ki Duk one's so I'll add them to my Lovefilm list now, cheers mate :)

Also add 3-iron and Samaritan Girl to the Kim Ki Duk list

They're quite different from all the other flicks, certainly more arty, but psychologically they're the most 'horror' out of anything coming out of that country, particularly The Isle and Bad Guy.

Tonights movie is Blood and Black Lace - some thoughts - this DESPERATELY needs a hi-def upgrade, my VCI dvd looks awful, bleached out, speckled, atrocious in the dark scenes - we can only dream of a Bay of Blood type resurrection. I love Bava but for me this film is a tad overrated, some great scenes but it never truly grips or scares. The inspector is an Italian Mark Kermode doppleganger. Alan Moore defo saw this as a boy - the killer is basically a blank Rorscharch.

Gotta see Bedevilled from last year (just outside my top 10 for 2011). That's sum gut wrenching shiit :shocked: . . . !

CANNIBAL CAMPOUT - I've been watching a few examples of that 'first wave' of shot-on-video 80s horror recently. 'Sledgehammer' was a genuinely bizarre and baffling standout, a piece of dreamy alienation with a really oppressive vibe in places (maybe mostly due the soundtrack if I remember correctly). 'Cannibal Campout', on the other hand, comes across as amiable if sadistic parody peppered with bleaker, sleazier moments. There's the domestic camcorder look which to me always suggests something a little forbidden - it associates with porno, washed out bootlegs and maybe things on tape you just shouldn't see (ie. 13th generation Robert Palmer videos playing at 3 am in an empty room). That bad 80s VHS look has come back recently (ie Trash Humpers), but in a way this seems competently put together - so many films like this don't use editing in a dynamic way at all, whereas this one at least seems to carry some forward momentum and pace. Anyway, some standard teens go on a camping trip into the woods where a trio of cannibal back-woods types lurk (yeah it's not revolutionary). Some surprisingly mean spirited gore happens after plenty of wandering and talking. Could have been a weird anti-classic if the comedic tone hadn't jammed the darker signals it seems to send at points.

Just seen a new US indie thriller called Occupant.
Its a pretty good movie which I enjoyed.
There are only a few characters in the movie and the main guy was very good.

Its about this old woman who does at the start and they say its heart attack but you seen some finger nail marks to make you think otherwise. Her grandson arrives to identify the body and then the doorman and this lawyer tell him that the flat is a rental and his grand ma was only paying $625 instead of $10k so they decided to try and transfer the contract to him. In order to do this he has in stay in the flat and not leave until the lawyer gets the court order which will take 12 days.

Slowly things start to happen and he goes crazy...cant say the rest without spoiling it so go see it! ha ha :)
Its got a interesting story and good atmosphere.

Saw The Innkeepers, which was OK in and of itself - not great or anything, but it was a big improvement over The House Of The Devil. It's very derivative and has no surprises, but it's worth a watch.

Also, as a modern ghost film, I thought it was better than either Paranormal Activity or Insidious.

Finally watched Silent Night, Deadly Night, last night.I liked it a lot,and liked the fact that they spent half the movie on the development of Billy's character,not typical for a slasher film!

Resident Evil. I've seen this movie plenty of times now, and it's still one of my favourite flicks. It has great action, Milla, Zombies, Milla, kick-ass Michelle Rodriguez, Milla, a great pace, Milla, and one hell of an ending - have I already said that Milla Jovovich is the leading actress? :love:

Totally unsuitable if you want to exercise your brain cells - but if you've got a few dispensable ones, it's highly entertaining! :nod:

Greetings!

Took advantage of a morning off and watched my cheapie blu of Elephant (the Gus Van Sant one). What can I say, a magnificent film, beautifully put together and charged with suspense despite not much happening for the first hour. Great soundtrack too - Beethoven and Acid Mothers Temple together at last. I loved this movie - head to Fopp folks and see if they've any left!

It is a very good flick.
I know there are a lot of Van Sant haters out there though.

It is a great film and have been meaning to get the Blu-ray for a while, shame the nearest Fopp to me is 63 miles away :(

after watching the rather exciting finale to Breaking Bad 4, i needed cheering up so watched Sour Grapes (Larry David's only directorial credit etc) a very cheeky tale of greed and familial rivalry, was worth the wait even if it looked like a tv programme in places (ie flat looking)

Its the only Van Sant I've seen - anyone got recommendations for others? (not Good Will Hunting though, can't stand Robin Williams!)

His Psycho is definitely worth a watch - contentious for a lot of folk, but definitely worth a watch.

Drugstore Cowboy is probably my fave Van Sant, although I love Elephant too.

...anything but Gerry :ack: . . .

Scream 4. Once more, Mr Williamson and Mr Craven deliver a decent Horror flick. They have not reinvented the wheel, but this newest part is convincing because of the continuation of all the well-known characteristics of the franchise (including the cast) and because the implementation of a few new aspects works well. This is the fourth installment of a series, and it makes fun of sequels more than once (and remakes - watch out for a hilarious scene when Hayden Panettiere lists almost all recent Horror remakes at maximum speed! :lol:), with versatile director Craven, and talented writer Williamson bringing in quite a few digs at the Horror genre in general.

The pre-credit scene is excellent, as is the final part of the movie - the latter being very dark and pretty angry. The rest of the movie varies from good (but already seen before) to great (e.g. the scene in the parking garage!) - it drags a little bit in the middle, but never enough to make you push the FF button.

Recommended!

Greetings!

PS: A word on my own account - am I getting old, or is Scream 4 a little bit hard in terms of violence and gore for a BBFC 15 movie? :o

PPS: My eyesight isn't the best, but does Neve Campbell (38) look a bit older than Courteney Cox (47) in quite a few scenes? :loco:

PS: not in the slightest, it's incredibly tame for a the franchise, with only a few scene that are actually gory, the bedroom scene in particular. That's what disappointed me most about the film, the lack of screen violence and gore when the first 2 were quite OTT in a hollywood kind of way.

PPS: Courtney Cox has had so much work or whatever done to her face that she no longer looks like Courtney Cox, She also looks 10 years older than she actually is. I thought Neve Campbell looked good.

actually agree with most of what you said about SCREAM 4, i liked it because it was just another Scream film, nothing new added.

Unexpected discovery of a wonderful low budget gem!

I have recently reorganised my Living room AV equipment and uncovered a forgotten pile of Poundland purchases, Film 2000 "home movies" and old Vipcos I had separated away from the main lot of disks for some reason long forgotten. I thought I might as well watch a couple I had not as yet seen. Firsst I watched Lich which was a fairly typical Film 2000 shot-on-video job, possibly a little better than the bulk of that company's releases.

But the other was a film from 2003 by Bilge Ebiri called New Guy. What a fantastic film! A dark and surreal Kafka-esque horror comedy, intriguing and intense with a superb central performance. I loved this and can't believe I let it vanish into a dusty corner for so long!

Find and watch this film!

HOLLYWOOD STRANGLER MEETS THE SKID ROW SLASHER - Late period Ray Dennis Steckler. Basically one scenario, shot silently with a voice-over added, repeats endlessly with minor variations - a photographer with a misogynistic chip on his shoulder strangles barebreasted ladies in down at heel LA. Over and over and over... It's sleazy. Gender symmetry is restored when a female tramp-murderer stabs photographer guy. Could be the lonely and slightly disturbed companion of 'Don't Answer The Phone'.
PICK-UP - Will slide way past your frontal lobes. Kind of a hippy road-trip with a delectable dream-like shimmer and some shagging in a swamp. There's also "evil clown - as - metaphor... but for what?" type imagery, trippy edits and a priest's inappropriate organ recital. How did it all get so ungroovy? (I mean life, not the movie).
SKULLDUGGERY - I would try to describe what happens in this superweird flick but just thinking about it makes me want to lie down. Thankfully, I can only remember a little of what happened when I watched it, and can decipher even less... dungeons & dragons references... silent magician-boy... strange music... a labyrinth of cracked symbols... evil Mr Puch recurring endlessly, eyes glinting... no, take it away, it's all coming back! Like Lewis Carroll decided to make a bastard of an early 80s direct-to-video thing - an abomination well worth seeking out.

just finished watching COLOMBIANA, another globe trotting action film from the Luc Besson/Robert Mark Kaman writing Duo, nothing new as this has been done a million times before, Zoe Saldana is very very hot and gets almost naked in every other scene, not the best action sequences but serviceable. Seen worse but worth a rental. Lennie James does however make this a more watchable film.
http://www.posters555.com/pictures/C...32ac7b45_b.jpg

I also thought Lich was a decent purchase for £1. One of the few Poundland films that i actually kept from 2009.

Although its shot on video the actors do a decent job of it.

well mates night went with a swing....
Streetcar Named Desire (restored)
Mardi Gras Massacre
and a very silly Star Trek spoof using elements of Journey to Babel...

he started the night with the pearl & dean sting, some trailers and drinks later on went ASND, now im not as keen on this as i am about Cat on a hot tin Roof, but enjoyed seeing it nonetheless, and th parts they cut out made censors look like silly sexuallly repressed twits really!

he then showed some great old "refreshments" ads...Lyons Maid Frankies anyone??;);) all of which were a hoot.
after some more booze and that, we finished the night with MGM, which i could only describe as Blood Feast without the laughs :laugh: at least i can say ive seen it now, ahem.

A very apt description really.:nod:

What films have you seen recently?
 

BLACK SWAN
a very good psychological thriller and the only film I've seen from Aronofsky

Wow! All I can say is you must see his other films. They're are uniformly interesting and brilliantly made.
I hated The Fountain when I first saw it, but I think it's probably my fave of his now, or at least joint fave with Black Swan :)

Just watched an Xmas present blu ray - Quatermass and the Pit. What can I say, Optimum hit this one out the park - on a par with Odeons Witchfinder General. Who knew this movie was so colourful? It's always been blessed with a genius screenplay from Nigel Kneale now it looks fantastic too. The SFX will never age gracefully but who cares when the ideas are this disturbing and original.
Just a thought - how about someone resurrecting this franchise? - written by Mark Gattis and directed by Duncan Jones please.

Totally agree with you there, Gattis and Jones, an awesome mix, and the Blu is a beauty...

Recently watched Branagh's Dead Again.

I wasn't overly keen on this. It felt exactly like what it was. Branagh making a rather obvious thriller for an American market, which in itself is no bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit of his manic and theatrical OTT style to come through, but the directing felt a bit flat and the characters were very one dimensional, leaving little for the excellent cast to work with.
I guess it probably comes down to the faults of the script more than anything, but what I hoped would be a noirish and stylish effort just turned out to be something run of the mill.

On the other side of the spectrum I watched Andrzej Zulawski's Szamanka.

Flip me over and bugger me senseless, because that's pretty much what this does. Manic? OTT? Certifiable? You're not even close.

If you thought his extraordinary Possession was a lesson in nutty performances and plotting, then this is the next (il)logical step in Zulawski's film making.
The central performance from Iwona Petry, is a volatile cocktail of two parts Isabelle Adjani in Possession, two parts Beatrice Dalle in Betty Blue and a dash of Famke Janssen in Goldeneye.
From the offset she's going ten to the dozen and doesn't let up... ever... not once in the whole two hours.
She bangs her metaphorical drum quicker, harder and longer than the Duracell bunny could ever wish and struggling to keep up with her in an interesting but overshadowed role is Poland's equivalent to Tom Cruise/Bruce Willis; Boguslaw Linda - he's in the Sam Neill role, but has to perform some truly eye-opening scenes that I'm sure even Mr Neill would have balked at.

I'm not even 100% sure what the film is about but it features a lot of sex, a 25,000 yr old mummified male shaman with vaginal sperm up its arse, cannibalism, rats being used in a meat canning factory, nuclear apocalypse and a spot of suicide.

Highly recommended :happy: