What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[keirarts]

Dawn of the planet of the apes.

Set ten years after the last movies, the human race is left shattered and decimated after the plague unleashed in the first film does its business.
The apes however, are thriving and have all but given up on the humans until one strays into their territory.

This threatens to kick of hostilities and its a battle of wits and philosophies between two sets of apes and two sets of humans with the decision between peace and war in the balance.


I'm still pleasantly surprised by the quality of these new apes films. No silly endings or black & white morality. Instead just a focus on strong storytelling. Here director Mat Reeves gives us a tale that weighs up the desire for peace and a lasting future weighed up against war threatened by people haunted by the past.

Don't want to get into too much detail as this is a new film some may not have seen yet but like the first it really does itself proud when held up to the originals.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by keirarts

Dawn of the planet of the apes.

This will be my New Years Eve film.

[demonknight]

The Godfather, The Deadly Spawn and Hellbound: Hellraiser II

[Bringer Of Funerals]

Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace

[trebor8273]

The expendables 2

Enjoyed this a lot , loved the chemistry between the cast members and all the in jokes. No real plot to speak of but plot have never been important in theses films. Just lots of over the top action and shit blowing up. 9.5/10

The last stand

Wasn't expecting much after the poor reviews, but Arnie has not lost any of his screen presence. Funny and action packed. 8/10

The asphyx

A great little chiller with a good cast and interesting story of a scientist that discovers a way to make him and his family immortal but things don't go as planned. Remember it scaring me when I was a kid to the point I was frightened to have myself photographed. 8/10

In a bit of action movie phase at the moment so up next a film I have never heard or seen before a force of one, has anyone seen it?

[Andra Jai]

Godzilla

Struggled to get though this as I found it boring


Amazing Spiderman 2

Another one that nearly sent me to sleep - really dull


Ironclad 2

nowhere near as good as the first but still watchable

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Nightmare at Noon (1988)

Island of Death director Nico Mastorakis clearly had a blast with this film. The script writing stage must have been a hoot for this sci-fi, horror, western, action movie. It really is everything you could wish for in a B-movie, Christ there's even a helicopter dogfight in Monument Valley.

Mastorakis got himself a fine 80's cast of George Kennedy, Bo Hopkins, Wings Hauser and Brion James for this tale about strange science types who poison a small desert town's water supply turning the residents into raving lunatics. Going into the stories finer details would spoil it for those like me who had never seen the film before. It was wonderful watching each plot development, even more jaw dropping than the last.

It's not entirely perfect, there seems to be some poor editing early doors, characters unexplained movements and so forth, such as why was George Kennedy unconscious at one point? however whilst being a niggle at the time they are soon forgotten about in this seriously fun escapade.

The budget dvd from Hollywood Entertainment has a very nice 16:9 widescreen picture with good sound quality.

Highly recommended.

[trebor8273]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Nightmare at Noon (1988)

Island of Death director Nico Mastorakis clearly had a blast with this film. The script writing stage must have been a hoot for this sci-fi, horror, western, action movie. It really is everything you could wish for in a B-movie, Christ there's even a helicopter dogfight in Monument Valley.

Mastorakis got himself a fine 80's cast of George Kennedy, Bo Hopkins, Wings Hauser and Brion James for this tale about strange science types who poison a small desert town's water supply turning the residents into raving lunatics. Going into the stories finer details would spoil it for those like me who had never seen the film before. It was wonderful watching each plot development, even more jaw dropping than the last.

It's not entirely perfect, there seems to be some poor editing early doors, characters unexplained movements and so forth, such as why was George Kennedy unconscious at one point? however whilst being a niggle at the time they are soon forgotten about in this seriously fun escapade.

The budget dvd from Hollywood Entertainment has a very nice 16:9 widescreen picture with good sound quality.

Highly recommended.

Sounds like my type of movie

[SShaw]

The day after the night before began with Samuel L. Jackson in a live action remake of the Japanese anime Kite.

Following the collapse of the world economy the world has gone to shit. Sawa is a young drug addicted woman who lives her life as an assassin, eliminating members of a modern day slaver ring who she believes were behind the murder of her police officer father and her mother. Since the death of her parents, Sawa has been supported by her fathers police partner, played by Jackson, but a face from the past leads her on a journey which throws into jeopardy everything that she believes.

On paper Kite should have been an opportunity to tell a topical, if largely unoriginal, sci-fi action story. Unfortunately it is undermined by a poor script that provides little narrative momentum and characters whom it is difficult to connect. There are a couple of fantastic images, one suspects lifted directly from the source anime, which while undeveloped show the potential that the material had. Due to Jackson's presence and its anime roots I suspect this will find a "cult" audience. Personally, I won't be in a hurry to see this again.

Although there are no spoilers, those intending to visit Fright Fest at the end of August may wish to stop reading at this point.

Open Windows which stars Elijah Woods, perhaps genre cinemas hardest working actor, and former porn-star Sasha Grey (who I enjoyed in Steven Soderburgh's Haywire and Girlfriend Experience).

Grey plays Jill a b-list actress who has risen to fame through her appearance in science fiction television series who is in town for a science fiction convention, Wood is a fan of Jill and runs a website devoted to publishing information and photographs. Nick is also in town having won the opportunity to interview Jill over dinner for his website. Nick becomes embroiled in an on-line game of cat and mouse when a computer hacker named Chord hacks his computer and forces him to assist in an elaborate stalking/kidnapping of Jill.

Despite a number of technical problems during the screening, Open Windows still managed to capture my attention with its interesting and exciting take on the possibilities of the interconnectedness of everything and the internet for criminal acts. Recommended.

The final film of day 2, Zombeavers, was the perfect midnight nature-gone-bad film with its combination of scantily clad women, outrageous script and titular freaks of nature. Often with films like Zombeavers the film is pretty much done once the opening titles have rolled (LLoyd Kaufman please stand up) but here there is enough to sustain the 90 minutes or so running time. Recommended

[keirarts]

Outland.

Written and directed by Peter Hyams. Outland stars Sean Connery, cinemas favorite wife beater as a marshall on a remote mining colony on IO. A re-telling of High noon Connery interferes with a drug racket run by the company's representative played by Peter Boyle. Pretty soon hired guns are on their way to sake care of Sean who finds no one is willing to help.

I went off Connery as an actor after hearing his views on hitting women, but Outland is a good movie. It takes the Aesthetic design of films like alien to give the mining outpost a grimy worn down look. Base apparently on off shore oil rigs. The film is essentially high noon in space and very entertaining. Looks great on blu-ray and the disc is region free.

Foxy Brown.

Foxy's boyfriend gets gunned down by a drugs cartel after being betrayed by her brother. Foxy heads out to get revenge and in the process clean up the streets. Foxy Brown is no nonsense solid story telling from Jack Hill. An entertaining crime movie with plenty to satisfy it's audience. Pam Grier is marvelous and Arrows blu-ray looks great.