I also watched Tucker and Dale vs Evil.

Absolutely brilliant, anyone who enjoys outdoors / backwoods horror films should love it.

The best film i have seen this year.

That film is a joy to watch such a great idea funny as hell and great gore also. Really gotta pick up the blu ray of this gem.

Its great!
I look forward to more from the director!

The Witch (1966)

A little bit too plodding, I think a bit of nipping and tucking here and there would have benefited this film greatly.

Richard Johnson
1. Deadlier Than The Male (1967)
2. The Haunting (1963)
3. Some Girls Do (1969)
4. Operation Crossbow (1965)
**5. The Witch (1966) NE**
6. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (1979)

Had a Tarantino themed weekend. Planet Terror, From Dusk Till Dawn and Kill Bill 1 and 2. Apart from the fact that Norwich got beaten by Newcastle it was a perfect weekend.

Nice to see CARNIVAL... get a mention. Although not a favourite of mine by a long stretch, it does contain some mind melting badness and some slightly surprising gore, but the endless repetition of square sixties couples talking tended to tip more towards the 'irritating the shit out of' rather than the 'hypnotic/mesmerising' end of the scale for me. Still, there's some worthwhile weirdness to be had. Not as hard going as Andy Milligan, I reckon. Actually, it comes way second in the tedium stakes compared with its neighbour on that 'Something Weird' disc, 'The Headless Horseman'... never even managed to finish that one!

I've yet to see "The Headless Horseman". I love "mesmerising" tedium in films, I have a theory that it's a short cut to spiritual illumination!

WARRIOR.

Contains almost every cliche' you could imagine. Blue collar mill town...check. Alcohol and drug issues....check.... underdogs triumphing over adversity...check. The film is great however as the director seems to have the smarts to realise how unorigional the film is and simply play up to it creating a very entertaining melodrama. Still not as good as Rocky though!

Kudos to nick nolte for a supurb performance!

Damn it! :(

Oh well...

Right then....

I SAW THE DEVIL ...Watched the Korean version this time (with the rape etc) still a powerful piece of cinema, showing as it does that revenge is a poisoned chalice indeed. Unlike the god awful Raw Deal which was on at the same time on ITV.....

The Haunted Palace...if by "based on..." you mean mentioning 3 aspects of the original story....Still great to see Vinnie wander round another creepy mansion though, something i did a lot of this weekend as i also watched.....

The Abominable Dr Phibes (Robert Fuest) It's been years since i saw this, still a camp delight embellished by Brian Eatwell's sumptious set design!! which spurred me onto to clock.....

Dr Phibes Rises Again (Robert Fuest) Yep, Ol'Anton is back baby, this time fighting an archeaologist (Robert Quarry!!) for the key to eternal life, i've always noticed that this is unfairly slated in comparison with TADP, feck that, any film where John Thaw is torn asunder by an eagle is alright in my book....

FISH STORY...If you only watch one "apocalyptic" film this year make sure it's this one!! A bizarre blend of genres coalesce into a satisfying denoument (especially for me:laugh::laugh:) Highly Recommended!!!

Frostbiter: Wrath of The Wendigo AAAnd if you see one godawful Evil Dead clone this year make sure it's this (and nae Cabin in the Woods :lol:) high grade cheese, which was exactly the same tosh as when i saw it in the 80s, featuring the best "worst" dialogue since Avatar (but far more entertaining than that kids film) Remake THIS mofos!! Ahem

Angst Now this had an added frisson of delight for me as this is the German film that preempted Peep Show's use of subjective camera angles (and the protagonist has a slight swipe of R Webb if you squint haha). Proving that serial killers are inept, if dangerous individuals i felt on more than one occasion that this would tip over into unintentional comedy, but never did (..just). I also felt that the use of sound in this film was one of it's highlights (drip, drip, drip.....) and it contains one particularily nasty scene, so it goes into the Recommended pile by default....

Hey, nearly done.....

DEATHDREAM (aka Dead Of Night, Bob Clark, 1972) Why haven't i seen this before?? I probably don't need to recap this plot for most on this site, but wow quite one of the greatest "vietnam" films i've EVER seen all held together with a near autistic performance by Richard Backus, will enjoy showing this in particular to civillians (nae pun intended)

Doctor Mordrid Jeffrey Combs. nuff said. ;)

All in all, an exciting buncha stuff. highs and lows. signs and portents. more to come.........

Well my voluntary work at my city's documentary festival is over and so is the festival too!:( I watched 23 interesting dokumentaries,too many to review right now :tongue1:

@Demoncrat - I also like the Phibes follow up, even if it is a bit 'sillier' than its predecessor.

@sawyer - Sounds great: Hopefully we'll get to see some reviews though...? :tongue1: ;)

I'm still a bit shocked and tired right now:)I'll do something tomorrow!;)

Self-indulgent though it may be, I do like Magnolia (although it isn't very Cruise heavy).

I'd have to agree with the anti-Cruise side. His private life aside, his films, and his ability as an actor leave a lot to be desired!

The main reason why he keeps getting work is probably because he is (apparently) easy to work with and does most of his own stunt work - fair play to him in that respect.

Looking forward to it! :clap:

Don't forget that he's a pretty smart-looking fellow, too. As a film producer, you've got to win over female audiences. :biggrin: :nod:

Greetings!

As long as those females are less than 5 ft tall! :tongue1: :D

And let's not forget his rather dubious religious beliefs......:laugh:

We already addressed that a few posts ago... and wisely decided to skip that unpleasant chapter. ;)

Greetings!

:doh: Not being the biggest fan of "the cruiser" excuse my ignorance (Magnolia sucks compared to Short Cuts IMO...;))

I haven't seen Short Cuts, although I'm not a fan of Andie MacDowell either! ;)

Altman over Anderson for me anyday..... Anyone seen Hard Eight btw?? easily the best thing that he's done....and this film contains my least favourite actress that's married to Chris Martin!!!;);)

Watched the 1982 Hong Kong film He Lives By Night yesterday, really good film, fun and really easy going considering its story. You could tell it had alot of the Aces Go Places influence behind it.

La Orca
Excellent kidnap / plot movie with terrific performances all round. Great print from Camera Obscura.

Old Cruise gets a lot of stick nowadays (mainly for his personal beliefs) but for me, he's the quintessential movie star of our generation. He's got (a) good looks, (b) on and off-screen charisma, (c) a genuine affection for his own fans, (d) complete business savvy, (e) a huge box office draw and (f) a flawless working ethos. I've never heard a director or anyone say a bad thing about him.

Whilst he's made some schlock over the years (Cocktail, Far and Away, Days of Thunder, Mission: Impossible II), he's made some (IMO) great films (Rain Man, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Risky Business, Minority Report, Vanilla Sky, The Last Samurai) and is not afraid to take a risk (Magnolia, Valkyrie, Lions for Lambs). Fair play to him I say! I'd say there's more Cruise films that I liked vs disliked.

On topic, tonight I'm off to see Contraband, so I'll post my thoughts later.

You see, I'd say they were all dreadful follies, (except for the excellent Risky Business and the not bad Mission: Impossible) each quite as poor as, say, Cocktail or Far And Away. If you wanted to defend him then surely better films/performances to cite would be Eyes Wide Shut, The Color Of Money, The Outsiders and Collateral?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but we may need a separate Tom Cruise thread! :lol:

Personally, I thought the Color of Money was awful, Scorsese's joint poorest film (alongside Kundun) for me. I meant to mention Eyes Wide Shut in the "taking a risk" bit, but obviously forgot! I think it's one of his strongest performances, and I don't understand the dislike for the film, from both a mainstream perspective and amongst Kubrick's followers. Collateral I forgot about, and The Outsiders is an ensemble piece rather than a Cruise vehicle.

I liked Vanilla Sky! And Rain Man is great, haha

I liked The Color Of Money but it is one of Scorsese's weakest for sure - however, I adore Kundun and think it one of the most under-rated films of recent years! :lol: I think Cruise's performance in The Color Of Money is one of his first genuinely good ones, though.

I'll give it another go, it's been a long time since I've seen either to be honest. I think Kundun might have been on VHS!

Watched another from The Nazi Cult Collection last night.

Nathalie Rescued From Hell.

Another excellent print, and a really good example of Nazisploitation, if a little light on the exploitation. The film is coherant and enjoyable and fairly races along with some pretty good action scenes. Patrizia Gori who plays Nathalie is quite lovely.

Jacqueline Laurent as Frau hortz looks rather fetching in her dominatrix gear as well.

Very entertaining stuff.

Reckon that box is worth a punt then, Dem? I've been umming and ahhing for a while.

I'm not the hugest fan of Nazisploitation, but once in a while they do hit the spot.

So far i've seen two, Nathalie and Ilsa Fraulein SS, both enjoyable films with nice clear crisp prints. I thought from the reviews of the first run of this set with the alternate cover that the prints were not up to much but i am more than happy so far.

They are nowhere near as exploitative as say, The Beast in Heat, but are actually better films.

There are still another four to watch, even if the prints are poor, £14 delivered is good value for the two i have watched already. I will take the others as a bonus.

I'll post some stills later today.

Good man, yerself!

Thank you.

Death row

Not a bad film but idea story and deaths could have been pretty decent if film was made a bit better ..but didnt help when acting was pretty shoddy especialy him who looked like shaggy from scoooby doo talk about rubbish acting he was terrible..

Just finished watching

Fragile a Ghost story...
Pretty decent film based on a ghost haunting a children hospital
More like the type of film that you"d ecpect from the japanese horror style..
Goes to show a decent ghost horror film can slip through the net without relying on the japanese making it and then becoming a naff hollywood remake..

Satans blood.

Spanish occult horror mixed with softcore hairy-bush action. J.P simon of PIECES fame was involved which should tell you all you need to know.

I enjoyed it! :popcorn:

Thanks for building a bridge between two of my favourite things, 'Angst' and 'Peepshow'! The only thing better would be David Mitchell starring in a Peter Kurten biopic!

I want that film made, and I want it made now!

Ironclad (2011) - Following the forcible signing of the Magna Carta, King John (Paul Giamatti), teams up with the Danish to reconquer England and retake the throne. But Templar Knight Thomas (James Purefoy) teams up with the Baron of Albany (Brian Cox) who ride with their small band to Rochester Castle and hold it against John and his Danish cohorts. It's pretty well done and I quite enjoyed this slice of historical mayhem.

The Hypnotic Eye (1959) - Desmond the Hypnotist might well be behind a recent spate of beautiful women disfiguring themselves and it's up to a local detective to get to the bottom of the mystery - especially as his own girlfriend could be the next victim! It's quite an oddity this one and fairly nasty for its time. There's also a weird sequence inside a beatnik club where a guy rattles off a poem called Confessions of a Movie Addict, which talks about seeing original, uncut films. See, even back then they wanted unrated versions. LOL! Overall, nicely done and I enjoyed it.

Drive (2011) - Ryan Gosling is the titular driver, who works by day as a stuntman and by night is a getaway driver for hire. But when he becomes embroiled with a young girl it spells trouble, as her husband is up to his neck in debt with a criminal gang. He agrees to help the husband but soon finds himself in the middle of something he hadn't accounted for. Winding Refn delivers another gem of a movie and is simply lovely to look at. The violence is brutal and the acting first class. Every single frame tells a story. Brilliant.

Blitz (2011) - Jason Statham is a tough London cop on the trail of serial killer 'Blitz', who is bumping off coppers. It's all action and brutality as the Stath rages through London. Silly but enjoyable.

Red State (2011) - Kevin Smith departs from his usual style and delivers this shocking portrayal of religion gone bad. Three young men on the promise of sexual thrills arrive at a trailer and suddenly find themselves kidnapped and at the homicidal mercy of Abin Cooper (Michael Parks) and his 'family' of church fanatics. They've also got an arsenal of guns and when the shit hits the proverbial fan, a prolonged seige and shoot out ensues. Absolutely brilliant. Best moment for me was in the middle of a ferocious firefight, Abin asks his daughter to get him a cup of tea. LOL! Unmissable.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) - Picked this up cheap on BD for a rewatch. It's silly, it's overdone, but I can't help liking it. Two bank robber brothers are heading to Mexico to escape the law and hitch a ride with a pastor who's lost his faith and his two kids. Upon arriving at the rendezvous point in Mexico at the unforgettable Titty Twister things take a most uunexpected turn, as the Titty Twister is a lair for a coven of vampires and it goes into overdrive. For all its shortcomings, I do rather like it. The BD looks great too, revealing details hitherto obscured. Quite impressive transfer, really.

The Guard (2011) - Brendan Gleeson is an Irish copper and a pretty unothordox one at that. When he's teamed up with a CIA operative to bust a drugs ring, things get a bit crazy. I really enjoyed this and Gleeson is pitch perfect. Well worth a look.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) - Blu-ray rental. Matthew McConnaughy (or whatever) is a lawyer who does his business from the back of a Lincoln. He's also exceptionally good at what he does, but then finds himself involved in a case that isn't what it appears to be and links back to a previous case he defended. It's actually pretty good and never quite goes where you expect it go. Not bad.

X Men: First Class (2011) - Another origins movie, this one is obviously recalling the origins of the X Men. And....it's actually pretty good. The performances are decent and the FX is excellent. It's also nice to get some back-story to Magneto and Xavier and I liked how they took in the Nazis, the Cold War and government conspiracies! Phew! They packed in as much as they could and it really does work rather well. Recommended.

The Woman (2011) - Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) is, on the surface of things, a family man with wholesome values. But when he discovers a wild woman living in the nearby woods, he decides to capture her, tie her up in his cellar, and 'civilise' her. Well, that's what he says, anyway. But as things start to unravel it becomes apparent that Chris and his family are far from normal, harbouring many, many dark secrets and Chris himself turns out to be anything but wholesome.

Lucky McKee's film is very dark and gruelling viewing at times, but absolutely brilliant. It's almost like a twisted deconstruction of the perfect American family. It had me cringing a few times as I couldn't believe where the film was going and Chris gets increasingly unhinged - although we quickly learn he's been unhinged for a very long time. Absolutely worth your time, this one.

Scarface (1983) - Picked this up on BD and I'm glad I did, it looks and sounds amazing. Tony Montana (Al Pacino) arrives in Miami as a Cuban refugee and quickly embarks on a career of crime rising to the top of a multi-million dollar cocaine empire. It's perfect in every respect and the film simply rolls from one classic scene to another, there's just no faulting this film. From the drug deal gone to bad (involving a chainsaw no less!), to the face off between Pacino and Loggia fiollowing an assassination attempt on Tony, to the final climactic shoot-out in Tony's mansion. It's breathtaking stuff and De Palma is audacious in what he dares to put on film - very strong stuff for its time. Oliver Stone's screenplay is searing and full of quotable lines and Giorgio Moroder's score is excellent, it's like a character within the film. Every single performance is brilliant, there's not a bad bit of acting in the entire film. Even the actors who only say a couple of lines are outstanding. If you haven't seen this masterpiece from Brian De Palma, then you really owe it to yourself to do so.

Cool Hand Luke (1967) - Paul Newman is Luke, a non-conformist who lands himself on the chain gang. But he refuses to be broken and continues to challenge authority, even though it won't go well for him. It's really a film about the triumph of the spirit and it's brilliant. Newman was never better and the supporting cast are first class: George Kennedy, Strother Martin, Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Joe Don Baker....the list goes on. It's been a long time since I last saw it and was glad to revisit it on BD, which looks amazing. Glad I've finally added this one to my film collection.

She Beast (1965) - This is Michael Reeves' first feature and it's nothing special, I'm afraid. After waiting so loong to finally see it, it was a bit of a let down. Ian Ogilvy and barbara Steele are a honeymooning couple in Transylvania when their car goes off the road into a lake and she becomes possessed by an ancient witch. It's not bad as these things go and Reeves proves he's masterful with a camera. But the story is weak and the acting sub-par, so it doesn't quite achieve 'classic' status.

Hostel III (2011) - Scott Spiegel takes over directorial duties on this one and the plot pretty much follows the trajectory of previous entries, but with a few added extras. A group of friends partying in Vegas find themselves abducted and subjected to torture and death in front of a live audience. There's a few twists along the way and I thought it was good fun, actually. In fact, as trashy as it is, I think I enjoyed this more than the two Roth entries. Not bad, though, overall. At least this one knows what it is - cheap, trashy entertainment and doesn't pretend otherwise. The final twist is shit though.

Easy A (2011) - A girl at High School finds herself in a situation whereby guys pay her just to say they've had sex, even though they haven't. But it backfires a bit and she gets a reputation as a slut, even though she isn't. Lots of references to The Scarlet Letter along the way too (and some Demi Moore slagging off as well LOL!). This wasn't actually half as bad as I thought it was going to be and there's a definite dark undercurrent to the whole film. Not a classic, but I've seen worse.

Damnation Alley (1977) - Following a nuclear holocaust a band of survivors hole up at a military facility. But when someone gets careless the place gets blown up and so George Peppard and Jan Michael Vincent set off in their battletrucks to head for Albany, where they suspect other survivors are living. Along the way they pick up a woman and a young boy (Jackie Earl Haley) and encounter some giant scorpions. But all's well that ends well. It's daft as a brush but I really enjoyed this crazy slice of 70's sci-fi.