What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by keirarts

I'd actually be interested in knowing what that film is..

It's very low budget Keirarts.

Creature [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Andre Ware, Steve Hedden, Frank Gorshin, Doug McCoy, Lynda Carter, Shirley Jones, Christopher Coppola: DVD & Blu-ray

[Frankie Teardrop]

WE ARE STILL HERE – Pretty good indie horror, supposedly inspired by Lucio Fulci. In it, a grieving couple attempt to come to terms with the loss of their son by renting a new house with some zombies in the basement. OK, their letting agent was a bit slippery about that last bit. 'We Are Still Here' builds slowly to its splattery conclusion and pays careful attention to atmosphere. There's a stiltedness to some of the performances, but somehow this seems to add to the air of dislocation, or to me it did. As for the Fulci angle.... I dunno, I can sort of see it in a way, but the overall 'feeling' is very American, and the scrungey zombies / ghosts / whatever reminded me more of 'The Fog' than anything from 'House By The Cemetery'. There were some nice little touches which I might need a revisit to get my head around ie. an undead couple tentatively holding hands near the climax. Not amazing, but very good and worth some of your viewing time for sure.

GHOSTS OF MARS – Carpenter riffs on his early hit 'Assault On Precinct 13' (I would say 'Rio Bravo' but I'm not that cine-literate) with this Mars based action horror, which sees future con Ice Cube forced to team up with the law in order to stave off some hostile body modification enthusiasts. Maybe not classic Carpenter, but I found it vastly entertaining and full of the requisite punchy dialogue, even punchier violence and general all round B movie atmos. Neglected to see it before now, and more fool me.

GIVE US TOMORROW – Although the title sounds like it belongs to some epic chronicling revolution in South America, 'Give Us Tomorrow' is a British heist / home invasion flick from the late seventies and as such is steeped in an atmosphere of beigeness and cortinas, not that either feature heavily, or at all. It's really cheap and threadbare looking. Two incompetent hoods hold up a middle class household whilst their buddies are off robbing a bank – it all goes wrong when one of the bank clerks does a hero act and gets shot. Focus is back on the household and how its occupants, the bank manager's wife and her teenage daughter, cope with two oiks and a shotgun. There are plenty of reasons to watch 'Give Us Tomorrow', not least its period creakiness, which is highly charming and has an air of something from the TV of the time, like a dumbed down and grimy 'Play For Today'. I say this because it doesn't really have the feel of an action thriller – I guess our, or my, perceptions of what that means have become too streamlined by Hollywood. Those looking for similar dynamics might end up drumming their fingers, and it's fair to say that the 'one room' situation is slightly grating rather than tense, but it's the film's other aspects which are worthwhile – the class fuelled rancour, the obnoxious dialogue, the desperate stupidity of the robbers... the grotty Englishness of it all. There are also some sleazy moments which are a little unexpected (or not, given the director) and which culminate in a dull and cringeworthy sex scene, although this aspect isn't particularly mined for full shocking effect. Definitely a curio which lovers of the arcane seventies will find of interest, 'Give Us Tomorrow' might struggle to captivate in some ways, but it still has its charms.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

GHOSTS OF MARS – Carpenter riffs on his early hit 'Assault On Precinct 13' (I would say 'Rio Bravo' but I'm not that cine-literate) with this Mars based action horror, which sees future con Ice Cube forced to team up with the law in order to stave off some hostile body modification enthusiasts. Maybe not classic Carpenter, but I found it vastly entertaining and full of the requisite punchy dialogue, even punchier violence and general all round B movie atmos. Neglected to see it before now, and more fool me.

I also really rate it and think it gets better with each subsequent viewing too.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Dark Passage (1947)

The third of four films Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made together and the chemistry is there for all to see. You can really see the tenderness in Bacall's eyes as she cares for the stricken Bogart during the first hour.

The film is classic noir. Violent, fast paced, great San Francisco locations and camera work, and a vicious femme fatale in Agnes Moorehead whose scheming is central to the plot of an innocent man on the run from San Quentin and desperate to clear his name and avoid the police.

It's the camera work that really stands out though, especially during the first hour. During this time we never see Bogart's face and the whole piece is shot from his view point. It's all superbly done and a joy to watch.

Originally posted in this thread https://www.cult-labs.com/forums/cri...tml#post467846 which you should all visit on a regular basis in this month of November noir.

[Demoncrat]

A mixed bunch reflecting the paucity of my reviews recently ahem!!

Soul Boys Of The Western World (2014, George Hencken)
The musical (?) equivalent of watching paint dry.

Satan Returns aka 666: Mo gui fu huo (1996, Ah Lun)
Purportedly a Se7en clone, according to the MIA sleeve anyhoo, this is this usual HK lunacy from the off. Recommended!!

The Moomins On The Riviera (2014, Xavier Picard)
A rather cloying version of Tove Jansson's creations. No Bjork either!!! Like Cycle, this seems to have disappeared. Buggeration!!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Way Back (2010)

Siberian gulag escapees travel 4,000 miles by foot to freedom in India.

Based on a true story, Peter Weir's film is an often harrowing but in the end life affirming piece of film making that isn't added to for cinematic or dramatic effect. It doesn't need to be. The journey itself together with the beautiful cinematography make the film. It's testament to all the actors - Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell among others - together with an intelligent script, that even though it clocks in at over two hours The Way Back is a gripping piece of cinema throughout.

[Justin101]

Some good and some bad but mostly 'ok' so far this week for me.

River’s Edge

Teenagers in a grim town react when their friend murders one of their group. Understated performance from Keanu which is great and shows he can act when given the correct script. Crispin Glover though is off the charts with a positively insane over the top but utterly compelling performance as Layne.

Nekromantik

Unfortunately the most interesting thing about this film is it's notorious history. I think it was exciting to watch back in the day because it wasn't allowed but now it just seemed pointless.

The bonus documentary about it's first UK showing at a film festival and all the opinion pieces were much better than the film itself.

Heaven Adores You

Not as good as I had hoped, a little muddled in the beginning, but lots of interesting archival footage of Elliott Smith as well as talking heads with ex band members, family and friends. A very sad story indeed.

Eraserhead

Too surreal for me but some amazing imagery.

LynchOne

A weird little fly on the wall doc about the creative thought process of David Lynch. It's not particularly entertaining and the photography is all over the place but there are some bits of interest.

[Zann]

Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man

What a treat! The beginning looks like the eighties programme Kickstart only set in Rome. Policemen that can do whatever they like and a weary but ultimately approving superior. Total objectification of women even by seventies standards - every women under forty in this film is a nymphomaniac and the ones over forty prostitute relatives. Had Ruggero been down the pub when he signed off on that theme tune?

[keirarts]

Been watching Leviathan documentary in anticipation of watching the Scarlet Box this wet weekend while waiting for Amazon to turn my account back on.
Overall a great documentary, so lengthy I've still the bonus 3rd disc to get through. Will sit nicely next to documentaries like Crystal lake memories on my shelf.

[Make Them Die Slowly]

JOHN WICK.

Ultra streamlined revenge flick with Keanu Reeves killing off the Russian Mafia after they steal his car and kill his puppy! Reeves is fantastic as a blank slate for the audience to project all their violent fantasies upon as he mixes up judo, jujitsu and gun play in his rampage across New York. Shit blows up. Recommended.