What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Make Them Die Slowly]

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES. Big and overly ambitious tale of the sinners of the fathers' being passed down a generation. Still, on the plus side Ryan Gosling stares off into space a lot being moody or troubled depending what's going on around him and there are endless shots of woodland roads and paths giving the film "meaning" or as I suspect a direct homage to American regional horror films and their love of a wooded path or corridor.

NINJA: SHADOW OF A TEAR. I've not seen the first NINJA film so don't really know how this connects in to it but this is quality stuff as Rob Brydon look a like Scott Adkins decimates Japan, Burma and Thailand in a psychopathic rage to avenge the murder of his wife. The fight scenes are plentiful with Adkins being fast and athletic for such a large man with a couple of scenes rivalling anything in THE RAID. Shit blows up. Recommended.

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

Whoops! Forgot to post this up the other day...

The last 20 films I've watched - lots of Kaiju and Spaghetti Westerns here.

1) Death Rides A Horse - Great Speg. Western with Lee Van Cleef - 7/10

2) The Edge Of Terror - From the director of Island Of Death, with a very British feel to it. - 4/10

3) The Crazies - A Romero classic! -6/10

4) Kick Ass 2 - Mainstream superhero fest -5/10

5) Are We Officially Dating? / That Awkward Moment - Zac Efron comedy

6) Godzilla - Overall disappointing but far better than the previous remake - 6/10

7) Gamera The Invincible - A Godzilla rip-off, with a fire-breathing flying turtle. So bad it's good gold! - 5/10

8) War Of The Monsters - Gamera's back and kicking monster butt! Loved this one! Gamers Vs. A lizard that shoots rainbows from it's back - 6/10

9) Return Of The Giant Monsters - Gamera Vs. A giant laser-shooting bat thing. - 5/10

10) Mousehunt - One of the first films I ever saw in the cinemas. Love it! - 8/10

11) Whoops Apocalypse - Picked it up fro a charity shop for 50p (oddly just a couple of days before the tragic news of Rik Mayall's passing). Not bad film although the saving point is DEFINITELY Rik Mayall - he steals the film. 4/10

12) The Grand Duel - Another Spaghetti Western with the legendary Lee Van Cleef. The music in this is superb! - 7/10

13) Drop Dead Fred - In tribute to the late great Rik Mayall, a comedy that gets funnier every time. - 8/10

14) Road - Went to the live Q&A of this motorcycle documentary - an excellent night out!

15) Destroy All Planets - Gamera is back and it just keeps getting weirder! Pity about the stupid 15 minute worth of footage from the last three films. - 2/10

16) Unforgiven - An award winning Eastwood western, but I was slightly disappointed. - 4/10

17) Chillerama - LOVE this movie! Get drunk and watch this tribute to drive-in cinema. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Best section has to the the giant sperm! - 8/10

18) Attack Of The Monsters - More Gamera so-bad-its-good action - 3/10

19) I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle - Neil Morrisey stars in a Braindead-esque British horror that more cult fans need to see! It's nuts - especially the poo-poo eating scene... - 6/10

20) Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - A true classic! - 9/10

[Handyman Joe]

I've gone Film Noir crazy recently - here's 3 more in reverse order of awesomeness -
Murder, My Sweet - I don't know, Dick Powell is a pretty good Marlowe but for me lacks the inner cynicism and infinite cool of a Bogart or even a Mitchum. Everything's in place here, it looks great and is enjoyable but feels a bit rote.
This Gun For Hire - this one has an ace up it's sleeve - Laird Cregar as a cowardly but ruthless underworld kingpin. Apparently he was 26 when he made this - what? Alan Ladd is the anti hero - he's pretty good. Some espionage and mad scientists add a nice wrinkle to the familiar scenarios.
Night and the City - Now, this what I call a masterpiece from Jules Dassain (of Rififfi fame).The story of a doomed hustler indelibly played by Richard Widmark (the Steve Buscemi of his era).This movie is beautifully shot, often at dusk or dawn. It features some great character actors, it captures post WW2 London perfectly and has the Shakespearian feel of great tragedy. Don't bother waiting for the blu here, the DVD picture is flawless. Highest recommendation.
Also crammed in Detour - essential for David Lynch fans - the DNA of Lost Highway is here. A beguilingly weird little movie with a unforgettable psycho turn from the aptly named Ann Savage.

[Mojo]

VAMPIRE OF THE OPERA
Early Polselli madness concerning a group of actors who take up residence in an old opera house, only to find it inhabited by a Vampire and his various chained up 'brides', resulting in one of the females of the group being attacked and returning as a seductive vampiress.
Not the greatest Italian gothic you'll see, but worth watching for some typically odd camera angles, atmosphere and bizarre musical numbers (!)

HALLUCINATION STRIP
A mixture of drug / crime drama and early 70s hippydom, this one centres on one student getting caught up in a war between the police and the Mafia, culminating in a great hallucination sequence. Far out man!
Another excellent and obscure release from Raro, who really have upped their game in recent times.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Handyman Joe

The story of a doomed hustler indelibly played by Richard Widmark (the Steve Buscemi of his era).

Widmark's era ran from 47 until he retired in 2001.

He was the Richard Widmark of his era. Buscemi, no matter how much i like him, doesn't even come close, especially when you notice the huge number of heroic cowboys, cops and all round action roles Widmark had throughout the fifties, sixties and seventies.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Frankenstein 1970 (1958)

Boris Karloff returns to the Frankenstein fold, although this time playing the doctor rather than his creation for which he gained legendary status. Bringing the film crashing into the fifties Frankenstein has given up with the power of electricity and started harnessing atomic energy to bring his creation to life in a device that looks somewhat like a CTC machine.

With times being a bit hard Frankenstein has allowed a film crew into his castle to make a horror film knowing the cast and crew will come in nicely when it comes to bringing his creation to life.

Frankenstein 1970 is an independent film and suffers a little from not having the production values of a Universal or RKO programmer. Apparently shot in eight days it lacks the polish of the earlier Frankenstein films but is still an entertaining, fun filled romp. Karloff as always is a pleasure to watch and at age 70, this, along with the same years Corridors of Blood, is probably the last of his more active film roles. The creature, when it goes on the rampage looks more like a mummy than any of the incarnations seen on screen to present and the shock ending actually did take me by surprise. The film does offer a few chills especially during the opening sequence which is a great set piece and has you gripped with the narative from the off.

It is difficult to call Frankenstein 1970 essential viewing but it still comes highly recommended to lovers of classic horror.

[Handyman Joe]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Widmark's era ran from 47 until he retired in 2001.

He was the Richard Widmark of his era. Buscemi, no matter how much i like him, doesn't even come close, especially when you notice the huge number of heroic cowboys, cops and all round action roles Widmark had throughout the fifties, sixties and seventies.

You must admit there's more than a passing physical resemblance - it was this i was thinking of more than overall career trajectory/ability, although the loser in Night and the City would have been a perfect role for SB IMO. Re their respective careers it's worth bearing in mind that, in the old days, less than conventionally handsome guys often got to be leading men and heroes, opportunities would have been greater for actors like Buscemi and their careers would have been very different.

[Mojo]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

L'Immortelle (1963)

A French professor visiting Turkey becomes embroiled with a beautiful woman, no sooner does a relationship begin to develop he loses her. Going back over his tracks no one seems to know of her, then he finds her again... or does he.

A film which borders on repetition in its structure with scenes playing out more than once in the professor's memory yet always differing slightly each instance, L'Immortelle is a beautiful film.

The camera work is quite stunning. Slow tracking shots and almost lazy zoom lenses allow the viewer to pore over Istanbul which itself has practically a surreal feel to it as director Alain Robbe-Grillet removes us from the bustling city and drops both the viewer and the professor into the quiet contemplative mosques and back streets of the hidden city.

For me the highlight of the film is the captivating Françoise Brion as the unnamed woman. Stunning, bewitching and enchanting are three words which perfectly describe both her appearance and mesmerizing performance. I could not take my eyes off her as her near ghostly portrayal infused the film with a seductive atmosphere of eroticism.

As an introduction to director Alain Robbe-Grillet i found it a fascinating if a little bewildering viewing experience. I went into the film with absolutely no knowledge of it's story or any
background information and came away from it tantalized and desperate to see more from this brilliant auteur.

Great review Dem. I've also started on the Grillet boxset, having watched SUCCESSIVE SLIDINGS OF PLEASURE. Really enjoyed it and notice similarities in themes and style to L'IMMORTELLE.
I'll leave the honours of reviewing it to your good self, rather than my crappy three line reviews!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Handyman Joe

You must admit there's more than a passing physical resemblance - it was this i was thinking of more than overall career trajectory/ability, although the loser in Night and the City would have been a perfect role for SB IMO. Re their respective careers it's worth bearing in mind that, in the old days, less than conventionally handsome guys often got to be leading men and heroes, opportunities would have been greater for actors like Buscemi and their careers would have been very different.

Buscemi never played the tough action roles Widmark did throughout his career. As for their similar appearance i see no resemblance whatsoever. Had you meant Peter Lorre and Buscemi then i would have agreed as they looked alike and played very similar roles.

[anythinggoes78]

Lifeforce - Enjoyed some of the film then found some parts rather silly, seemed to jump around and not make much sense in places, thought the spaceship exterior shots were very poor too, but still was fun and Mathilda May was stunning to watch.

Gutterballs, pretty trashy film to be honest, enjoyed it to a point, but the bad acting was very bad at times to the point of being distracting.