What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Is that the Severin version you mean?

I must say i never really noticed. You have to remember though i watch many films where the print has a lot to be desired and don't really bother about them.

Yeah the severin version. Not sure if its how its shot but it looks like the contrast is either too high or some sort of isue with the print. Not anything major but I noticed a lot of the exterior stuff in sf seemed a little bright...

[Demoncrat]

But doesn't it look like that anyhow? My One On Top Of The Other just looks the same etc.....

[Demoncrat]

Also watched Arrow's dvd of Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (Miike Kakashi, 2002).
The use of the Flower Travellin' Band in it was alternately inspired and wasted (selections from "Satori" and a track from "Made In Japan"), regardless this is a hoot, as the lead (Riki Takeuchi) out Wong's Anthony Wong for sheer scenery chewing imo, and there is some super violence as well haha.

Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, 1997).
Another head f*ck from the man who brought us Paprika and Paranoia Agent. A pop star wants to break into acting which displeases her fans somewhat cough, some great editing here used to the extent where you are not actually sure what is "real" and "fiction", though not is such a ferocious way as Paprika cough.

[Nemesis]

COI Collection vol 4 - Stop! Look! Listen!

This is a great collection of short public safety films put out by the Central Office of Information - some real gems here:

Too Close for Comfort - Reg Varney plays a very clumsy driver, who learns the errors of his ways. Fun, but also delivers the point well.

Drive Carefully, Darling - Colin Baker plays the brain of a driver (as a controller in a control room). The ending is pretty effective.

Apaches - Directed by the Long Good Friday's John Mackenzie, half an hour long, but very chilling. Kids playing Apaches vs farm machinery and dangerous materials. Terrible American accents though, but to be fair they are young and they are impersonating.

Game of Chance - another short, 10 minutes long dealing with the dangers of farm machinery.

Searching - 45 second advert zooming through a burnt out house, illustrating the dangers of playing with matches. 45 seconds is all you need.

[Handyman Joe]

My old dog was at the vets all day so I compulsively ticked down the clock to his release with a triple bill of noirs-

Thieves Highway - Probably the least of the Jules Dassain movies I've seen so far, but that just means really good instead of brilliant. The characters just didn't gel for me - Richard Conte should have been more intense in his revenge quest instead of dallying about with a floozy, Lee J Cobb was hammy when he should have been scary. I'm being harsh, this is a solid movie, it just doesn't hit the heights

Clash By Night - stormy seas as a metaphor for stormy souls in this Fritz Lang noir melodrama hybrid. Richard Ryan and Barbara Stanwyck are fantastic as two corroded souls bonding despite Paul Douglas's nice guy alternative. I was hooked for the entire movie - a masterclass in acting and direction.

The Set-Up - not so much a movie as a pungent atmospheric snapshot of a good guy caught up in a crappy business - boxing circa the late 40s. Robert Ryan again, absolutely amazing as the fighter. This is only 72 min and a third of that is the bout, but who cares about plot when you're constantly in the moment.

Gismo was OK by the way! Silly bugger ate a fishhook, now removed.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (1972)

Fairly dull exploitation fare revolving around witchcraft, which starts off quite promisingly with an eerie electronic off-kilter score blended together with fractured hypnotic visuals as the credits roll by.

Unfortunately, once the film starts, the multiple story lines and plot arcs that are crammed in seem to just congeal together in a (surprisingly) blood and orgy lacking mess.

Whilst it was obvious that She-Devils had a lot of interesting ideas, it just didn't have the budget or coherence of execution to carry them through.

Originally posted here: Nightmare USA Films Discussion Thread

[Sam]

Watched a few when on holiday over the past week and a half, thanks to a portable DVD player (once the kids had gone to bed)...

Savage - picked this one up from Poundland ages ago but never got round to giving it a spin until now. Within the genre of Bigfoot films, this one was OK. It's cheap and cheerful but does try to do something a bit different with a plot that takes in some criminals on the run, domestic violence and a corrupt politician 'selling out' a rural town for the capitalist dollar ... as well as the Sasquatch himself of course!! If you like your feet big, you could do a lot worse than this

Night of the Living Dead - the Tom Savini remake. Yeah, this was alright I suppose but largely pointless due to its close similarity to the original (except the interesting take on the ending). Also light on gore, which given the director is unforgivable (although this may have been to stay on the right side of the censors ). Overall, this was well done but not one I'll be rushing back to in the near future.

Return of the Living Dead part II - largely forgettable zombie sequel - not really much to add to that! Not great, not bad but nothing to make it stand out.

The Dead Next Door - Loved this - quite obviously low budget but the gore effects are great and it feels like this was done with a genuine love for the genre. Takes an unexpected twist towards a Rev Jim Jones-style cult sub-plot and I also enjoyed the appearance of the do-gooders, campaigning for the rights of the zombies, which I don't think I've seen in any other zombie film. Recommended.

China Girl - This one doesn't seem to be as celebrated as Abel Ferrara's other films but there's a lot to enjoy here in my opinion. It's basically a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet set in New York and featuring warring Italian and Chinese communities. This is actually quite brutal in parts and the plot is fast-moving and compelling. The cinematography is also great and the bustling streets of New York look wonderful. On the downside, it's a little cliche-ridden and there are a few dodgy non-PC moments. I also found the performance of Richard Panebianco a little soft around the edges for the part. I would consider this a good companion piece to 'King of New York' and it'd be great to see this in HD (Arrow?? )

Castle Freak - The synthetic orchestral score tells you this is a Full Moon production straight away but this is a good 'un. A nice gothic feel to this one and some characters you can actually feel some empathy for. Pretty good

Piranha DD - This one got some pretty bad reviews on release and, to a degree, I can see why but I quite liked it. Very jokey in tone (more so than the original) and daft as a brush but it's never boring and doesn't scrimp on the gore. The Hoff's cameo is excellent too. Crap, but watchable crap .. switch off your brain and enjoy!

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Sam

Night of the Living Dead - the Tom Savini remake. Yeah, this was alright I suppose but largely pointless due to its close similarity to the original (except the interesting take on the ending). Also light on gore, which given the director is unforgivable (although this may have been to stay on the right side of the censors ). Overall, this was well done but not one I'll be rushing back to in the near future.

The MPAA had a major factor in this, as Tom describes in the commentary and the making of included on the DVD, damn shame too because a couple of his disciples did the FX work

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Rik

The MPAA had a major factor in this, as Tom describes in the commentary and the making of included on the DVD, damn shame too because a couple of his disciples did the FX work

Ah, I though that might've been the case given the time it was made and the fact there is barely any gore in there at all!! Zombie films are largely (although not solely) all about the set pieces so, as you say, that is a shame. Didn't get round to checking out the extras on the DVD but might check them out to hear a bit more on the subject...

[keirarts]

Captain America Winter soldier.

RE-visit from the cinema and glad to say it still holds up on the small screen. Basically it takes cap and puts him in a clancy-esque conspiracy thriller with plenty of outstanding action sequemces and a great script. Really tries to make a comment on surveillence society, military drones and expedieincy inbetween the explosions.