What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by vincenzo

I enjoyed Wolfen too (also saw it at the cinema back in the early 80's). Excellent photography and a typically strong Albert Finney performance.

Yeah, and me. Good stuff with one of the best decapitations ever.

But it's perhaps one of the least faithful adaptations of a novel ever seen!
I would still like someone to actually adapt the novel properly as it would make a very interesting movie.


ANTMUMFORD:
Nice review of "The Crazies".
Glad you liked it. I know what you mean about the film's technical shortcomings, but I actually find I like them. They add such a level of realism to the thing, almost documentary like and very, very Romero.

Rates up there with his first trilogy "Dead" films for me.

[42ndStreetFreak]

"Tony"

http://www.beardyfreak.com/rvtony.php


Tony (Peter Ferdinando) is a misfit, a loner and a total outcast from society.
He has no friends, no acquaintances, no social structure, no plans, no dreams…and he’s also a serial killer.

So come and spend some time with the most dangerous nobody in London.....



Filmed in 16mm and shot almost completely on location in London (and parts of Manchester) “Tony” perfectly captures that gritty, dirty, desperate and schizophrenic existence of low lives in low places.

With various aspects of Tony’s personality and traits based on real life serial killers and with a screenplay completely embedded in everyday realism, “Tony” not only draws the viewer into its world almost to the point that you truly could be an invisible being following Tony around, but from a purely cinematic point of view it’s the closest British horror cinema has come to that grimy exploitation aesthetic not only of its own late 60’s/early 70’s output but it’s also the first time ever that a British film has truly captured that fascinating underground, everyday life, vibe of something like “Driller Killer”.

The utterly wonderful screenplay not only captures the most mundane, tacky, tragic, desperate, sleazy and dangerous moments of Tony’s existence but the finely attuned observations as well about the people he comes in contact with.

At the film's heart though is the truly amazing, almost genius in its observational detail, performance by Peter Ferdinando.
From his look (the hairstyle, the bad moustache, the old charity shop clothes, the unflattering glasses) , his mannerisms (awkward attempts to engage others, the often despairing contemplation, the shuffled walk) and his schizo personality where the dreary awkward misfit and victim suddenly explodes into a clinical killer who briefly becomes the most dangerous person in the room, all is magnificent.
His dialogue deliver is perfect as well to give us perhaps the least flashy but genuinely unsettling and realistic serial killer essay seen in cinema. Truly.

The film’s only real failings are that this brilliantly low key approach that helps to create the masterful drama of the plot needs to be ditched (at least in part) as far as many of the grotesque and brutal aspects of Tony’s serial killer existence go.
We have followed Tony through his ‘normal’ moments and daily grind in such a realistically subdued fashion that we have almost been in his skin.
As such we need to be with him when he cuts up bodies in the bath, arranges the rotting corpses in his bed and cracks open a man’s skull.
All of which occurs in the film, but all of which (a great looking severed foot in the sink and a couple of briefly glimpsed limbs put in a bin bag aside) we are never truly party to.

That’s not to say the film does not have a couple of effective moments of (essentially sudden) violence though.
The throttling of a man with an electrical cord is made to look as painful, drawn out and hard as it would be to accomplish, an asphyxiation is pretty disturbingly crafted and an offal scene where Tony puts the guts into plastic bags is suitably in your face.

Overall though "Tony" is expertly acted (especially by the brilliant Ferdinando), astutely observed, microscopically astute, technically sharp, brilliantly directed and wrapped up in a magnificent, haunting, score (by ‘The The’ frontman Matt Johnson).

It could do with a bit more dripping meat and perhaps an extra 10 minutes onto it’s quite short running time, but otherwise this is the finest, most frighteningly, essentially low key and believable serial killer film we have perhaps ever seen (even beating “Henry: POASK” as far as realism goes) and as such has nothing but my full admiration and wholehearted recommendation.

Another gem in the crown of modern British horror.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Yeah,for what THE CRAZIES lacks in big budget effects etc,it makes up for in grit and nihilism.....

Yeah,WOLFEN is also one of my faves.A horror film with some originality and intelligence.

[Mojo]

Murder In A Blue World

Bizarre combination of A Clockwork Orange and serial killer / Giallo, I really like this film. And it's got a terrific ending.

Amityville II - The Possession

Amityville meets The Exorcist. Well acted, great special effects and highly enjoyable. Much better than the original ( not difficult, I grant you ).

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Amityville II is definetly the best of the lot Moj.
Even if it does lift wholesale chunks of THE EXORCIST ....

[antmumford]

I watched The Bird With The Crystal Plumage last night for the first time and I have to say that I thought it was great. The brilliant thing is that I picked it up for a quid in poundland, along with Cat O'Nine Tails and Profondo Rosso. Bargains!

Being only a pound, I thought the quality was going to be terrible, you know, a real cheap transfer but I was completely taken aback at just how great it looked. Considering this was made in 1970 the picture was superb, every detail clear and colourful. The only let down was one night scene that was just too dark to see anything. As mentioned previously I watched the AnchorBay release of The Crazies the other night and although that film is 3 years newer Bird looked twice as clear and crisp. Very, very impressed indeed.
Can't wait to watch the other 2 now and see if they're just as good.

If anybody has a copy of Bird but it's not a great quality print then let me know and I can pick up a copy from poundland as there are still loads of copies left (well there was last time I looked anyway)

Back to the film and as I said before I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable, it had moments of tension then moments of humour (which I really didn't expect) all beautifully wrapped into one package of delight.

Film gets 4 out of 5 and the DVD itself gets 2 out of 5 as there are just some trailers and an interview with Dario Argento which only lasts 10 mins or so (Oh yeah almost forgot) but then it shows some footage of Dario's Profondo Rosso Shop in Rome which I knew nothing about. Looks great. It also had footage of Tim Burton visiting it and signing stuff. Would love to go there and check out his little horror museum in the basement.

[DeadAlive]

Zombie Transfusion. (AKA Automaton Transfusion) - I like to give my support to low budget indipendant flicks and this one features zombies too. There's bucket loads of gore with some interesting weapons of choice to fight off the zombie hoards. Some genuine surprises too. A preganant woman having her unborn child ripped from her and eaten is a real WTF moment, but even at only 75 minutes this still manages to drag at times........... and that "to be continued" ending is a real kick in the guts.

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by antmumford

I watched The Bird With The Crystal Plumage

Sill his best 'straight' Giallo film for me (as opposed to the more flashy/horror Gialli like "Deep Red", "Tenebre") is easily top 5 Argento imho.

[Gojirosan]

Originally Posted by 42ndStreetFreak

Sill his best 'straight' Giallo film for me (as opposed to the more flashy/horror Gialli like "Deep Red", "Tenebre") is easily top 5 Argento imho.

After Suspiria it's my fave Argento. I adore it.

[42ndStreetFreak]

"Wolfhound"

This epic Russian fantasy flick borrows (in film form at least, not read the 1995 novel) so heavily for its opening from the (superior) opening of Milius' "Conan the Barbarian" that it's almost plagiarism!

After this opening though the film (a moment of Sauron 'super blasty sword' type action aside) settles down to be pretty much its own beast and delivers some very entertaining historical/fantasy storytelling that uses some powerful music and lush visuals to wrap its numerous (if not that large scale), sometimes bloody, action scenes up in.

Wolfhound's bat sidekick (not as childish in execution as it sounds) is also a nice touch and is a superlative bit of CGI work. In fact (a few model shots aside) the effects are very good indeed and the landscape is of course stunning.

The very sexy Oksana Akinshina (The Bourne Supremacy") delivers some solid female support to Aleksandr Bukharov's brooding hero and if the film is too long it's hard to really say why as not more than 5 minutes will pass without something interesting happening or some action/fantasy element occurring.

Sometimes a bit stodgy perhaps and it has some rather airy fairy 'The Loving Power of the Gods' moments, but overall it's a well crafted, well acted, fine looking, fine sounding, action packed fantasy swordplay film that may owe many things to other sources but has an engaging Slavic quality of its own.