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  #34281  
Old 2nd November 2015, 02:20 AM
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HALLOWEEN 3 – Bit late for the Hallowe'en party I know, but I watched this anyway. An enjoyable frolic as ever, and I'm always impressed by the way it manages to make its fairly silly sci-fi plot seem quite grave and ominous. The looming atmosphere has a lot to do with this last point, and although Carpenter wasn't at the (directorial) helm, the aesthetic feels like his – of course, his trademark glowering synths are all over the soundtrack. Who could forget nasty moments like the laser blast to unsuspecting saleswoman's gob and the eruption of insects that follows? Maybe more of that kind of stuff was needed, as there's just a little too much walking and talking for my liking. But only a little. I'm obviously not the only one who still feels haunted by those flickering TV jack o'lantern faces and creeped out jingles, images which cement 'Halloween 3' as a firm seasonal fave.

THE NEIGHBOR – A lone woman wanders around a suburban neighbourhood and just kind of tortures people for no reason. I like the overall concept here i.e. there isn't one. A severe lack of back story (read – complete absence of any meaningful character psychology, motivation, intent yadda yadda) actually works in 'The Neighbour's favour, because it means we can forget about pinning any hopes on coming to terms with the human tragedy of the situation and concentrate instead on what the film does offer plenty of, which is graphic gore, reasonably well done, served up 'torture porn' style with people getting it nice and slooowly whilst tied to chairs. I should point out that the main characters are really irritating thirtysomething slackers who elicited absolutely zero empathy from me, so all well and good really vis a vis the question of extreme brutality. 'The Neighbour' is pretty flaky, and plays the whole “it was a dream! Erm, was it a dream? Am I dreaming? No it's not a dream, but something else happened and now this is all like in the past or something? No, wait on, we're back to it being a dream. And, you're not going to ram that glass tube up my knob, are you?” card relentlessly. For me, this adds to its charm – gratuitous gore and a complete contempt for character and narrative structure place it easily within the realm of latter day exploitation trash, and I for one am very happy to take 'The Neighbour' on these cheapshit terms. No classic, but I'd rather watch this than 'Gandhi'. Oh, and PS, that reference to glass rods and cocks – the BBFC saw fit to trim that bit from the UK release, so thanks guys for saving the great british public from the inevitable wave of vaguely ludicrous penile torture which was just bound to have happened.

FORBIDDEN WORLD – I'm really glad I saw this again, as I'd forgotten just how much of a gem it actually is. A Roger Corman studios 'Alien' / 'Thing' rip off, 'Forbidden World' might not live up to the cinematic gravitas of its inspirations, but it certainly outdoes them when it comes to garish, cheapskate debauchery. There's an interstellar troubleshooter, a genetics lab, a mutant and a load of threadbare sets and bad lines. What marks 'Forbidden World' out from other cash-ins is its reverence for total schlock, which borders on mania. Exploitation staples are hurled wildly at the screen; nudity happens for the flimsiest of reasons; bad effects are brandished with sneery abandon; ridiculous, slimy gore kicks off for no reason; trippy edits beam in from nowhere; any notion of good taste is stripped right down and forced to prance like a performing dog in a humiliating ruff etc etc etc. 'Forbidden World's' dementia is so heightened that it almost feels like parody. It's not, though. It's played straight, although you can imagine Corman and everyone else having a good laugh during the shoot. I prefer it to that other New World sci-fi horror rip 'Galaxy of Terror' which is saying a lot, as that flick was a formidable and mystifying cod psychedelic work out with a high mayhem quotient of its own. Needless to say, both are highly recommended.
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  #34282  
Old 2nd November 2015, 07:36 AM
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Maybe I need to watch Galaxy Of Terror and Forbidden World again. Couldn't get along with them before. Then again I actually enjoyed the Town That Dreaded Sundown so maybe I'm just weird
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  #34283  
Old 2nd November 2015, 03:38 PM
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DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK (2005). Made for TV but this more recent Argento film I do find quite effective, story-wise very much like his old style thrillers. The casting certainly could've been better but the actors do their best, it's watchable and that's what counts.
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  #34284  
Old 2nd November 2015, 05:48 PM
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Stoker (2013)

I'm quite late to the party with this one which is inexcusable as i bought the dvd from Blockbuster prior to it going under.

Anyway that's digressing. Stoker, written by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller (his first screenplay), is quite a little gem. Impeccably acted by it's three leads - Mia Wasikowska, Mathew Goode and Nicole Kidman in what is essentially a southern Gothic drama with nods to the Hitchcock classic Shadow of Doubt.

Unlike the Hitchcock film Stoker brings doubt to the viewers mind as to what is actually unfolding on screen. At times i wasn't convinced Uncle Charlie as played by Goode actually existed at all thinking he was just an idea in India Stoker's (Wasikowska) head. Indeed acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-Wook suggests otherwise but i feel it's up to your own interpretation of events as to exactly what unfolds onscreen and exactly who is the culprit for the nefarious goings on.

The film looks stunning thanks to Park's direction and he fails to waste even a single scene and brings to the table some fascinating directorial flourishes that even Hitchcock himself would have admired.

I would say it's recommended but i think you'll all have seen it anyway.
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  #34285  
Old 2nd November 2015, 05:50 PM
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Good to see you've finally gotten around to watching it, Dem.
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  #34286  
Old 2nd November 2015, 05:51 PM
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Hellraiser.
So here it goes, it's been a while since i last watched this and I'm gonna be honest i don't remember being massively impressed with the original last time around, i preferred the sequels, particularly the third.
But i put it on last night, not really expecting to be blown away and...well...its a film of two halfs isn't it. I spent the first 45 mins or so thinking that it did seem the same as last time I'd watched it. A little bland, a bit flat. Then it gets to about the 50 minute mark when Kirsty finally meets Uncle Frank and all hell breaks loose. From there on it starts to feel like a different film, the aesthetic just seems to change. I'm not sure if its intentional on Barkers part and its not something I'd thought before but it felt like the film purposely contrasted it very mundane (barring a few bits and pieces) first half with the more striking, nasty second. Characters such as the frustratingly whiny Kirsty or the incredibly boring 'we just want to be together' Larry become fiesty and relevant. It's no wonder that Doug Bradleys Pinhead became so popular, he's easily the best thing in the film and the most charismatic character in the film.
As for Arrows new blu, well it looks great in terms of detail and colour, so much brighter and more vibrant than either of the older dvds I've owned. Its pretty grainy though which always disappoints me, though I'm very well aware thats a personal thing.
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  #34287  
Old 2nd November 2015, 06:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zann View Post
The remake? Heard that's worse!
I actually thought it was a lot better than the original which is very boring
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  #34288  
Old 2nd November 2015, 08:08 PM
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Off to Manchester for a long weekend.

Saturday night saw me watching...

The Burbs

First part of a Grimm double bill, I know some here don't like it but its always been a personal favourite of mine. The cast, including Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman and not forgetting Rick Ducommun are all uniformly excellent in a horror comedy classic that still holds up today. Certainly the audience were digging it quite a bit. I enjoy myself a lot each time I watch it, even through the pricey craft beer the venue was serving.

The Addams Family

Ex Coen Bros cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld delivers one of the best screen adaptations of a classic 60's TV series I've seen. Admittedly there's not many out there so no real strong competition. The only flaw with it is that there are to many scenes set up purely to pun. Otherwise again, the cast is excellent, special nod to the late Raul Julia, a terrific actor who really delivers as Gomez. Some surprising blink and you'll miss it puns including grandma cooking with the Joy of cooking and greys anatomy at the table. Personally I prefer The Addams family to the munsters. The Munsters are too...obvious (for want of a better word) and clearly designed off the at that point well worn appeal of Universal Monster. The Addamses are a more f*** up family, rich old money gone to seed through incest. Overall still fun but not as good as the Burbs.


Spectre

Was supposed to be Goblin! However with Hotel, trains ect booked decided to give this a go. Firstly, I f*****g hate the theme, really bland. Other than that however the film is a first rate action-er that had me chuckling and entertained throughout. Its a barely contained secret who Cristoph Waltz is supposed to be, I'll not give it all away but he has a white cat. Sadly no hidden volcano lairs or ninjas however. Not as good as Skyfall but its like saying Good the bad and the ugly isnt as good as once upon a time in the west. Spectre is still a great bond flick.
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  #34289  
Old 2nd November 2015, 09:11 PM
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Watched Saving Mr. Banks yesterday with the Mrs, maybe not the kind of film usually discussed here but honestly we both really enjoyed it, with the whole cast giving strong performances. I think Disney had a bit of fun with the actual truth of what happened but then who cares? Well worth a watch.
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  #34290  
Old 2nd November 2015, 10:43 PM
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San Andreas (2015) Your typical disaster movie really, nothing really new, some good effects.

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