What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

One of those films that passed me by last year with barely a murmur. David Yates' Legend of Tarzan was a blind buy and thankfully a film i really enjoyed.

A CGI spectacular of apes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, wildebeast and of course Tarzan himself swinging through the trees in a bid to rescue wife Jane from the evil and now typecast Christoph Waltz. Closer to films like Greystoke than anything Johnny Weismuller was in, i found the Legend of Tarzan to be rip roaring fun. Alexander Skarsgård made for a decent Tarzan and was ably backed up by Samuel L. Jackson and Djimon Hounsou. As for Margot Robbie's Jane, well she ain't no Harley Quinn in the scene stealing stakes.

As far as big budget CGI popcorn movies go, The Legend of Tarzan did the business for me.

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Rik

A rare thing just happened, I've turned a film off without making it to the end. The film was Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things and I lasted 40 minutes before I couldn't take anymore, I may try again at a later date but I highly doubt it, absolute garbage. Hopefully Dead of Night/Deathdream is an improvement otherwise I've wasted just under a tenner!

Almost 5 years after I posted this, and thanks to a review by Demdike (who agreed with my opinion on the film back then), I decided to give this film another shot. Definitely a slow burner, with nothing really happening for the first hour, but once the titular dead things rise from the graves, we're in Romero/Fulci territory, with the final 30 minutes being worth the slow start.
It's no classic by any means, but it is a film I'll definitely watch again, my opinion from 2012's ill fated attempt to watch the film has changed drastically. 3 1/2 out of 5

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

When my brother was visiting at Christmas, he had a voucher for a free film on Mubi or something similar, and we chose The Legend of Tarzan, both knowing very little about it because it didn't appear to have been shown in any cinemas nearby and with almost no publicity or reviews of note, had almost disappeared without trace. This was weird considering the cast and crew involved, not to mention the reinvention of one of cinema's most famous and endearing characters.

I thought it was a rollicking adventure with, as you said, superb CGI and immersive action sequences. Alexander Skarsgård was very convincing in the title role, Christopher Waltz wonderfully typecast as the cartoonish villain, Samuel L. Jackson trying not to veer into Snakes on a Plane territory and the phone his performance in. There is a fascinating subtext about the evils of colonialism, but not something which is overplayed so you feel as if you are being lectured at and can just enjoy the fantasy escapism. Although there are some bits where the pace drops a bit too much, I thought this was compensated by the way the screenplay made the Tarzan's character's 'make sense', being both refined aristocrat and king of the jungle (the explanation early on about the skeletal development was clever).

It's not perfect, but was more than passable entertainment – I think I scored it 7/10.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Cabin Fever (2016)

Eli Roth's debut feature Cabin Fever, as with all Roth's work, divides people. I really enjoyed it as it brought a stale genre back to life and was the first film in a new wave of reasonably sized budget horror films from new talent such as Roth, Rob Zombie and Adam Green and gave the horror genre the kick up the backside it needed.

It has to be asked though. Did Cabin Fever warrant, need or deserve a remake? In my opinion the answer was no. However some, including writer/producer Roth felt it did.

On watching you soon realize it is more or less the same film with a few alterations. There is still the mad as a hatter cop knocking about, although this time a woman, the set pieces are all there from the shaving of legs to the locking victims in the barn, and yet it works... because in my opinion the original film worked.

Whilst not a shot for shot remake ala Van Zant's Psycho ,this version from director Travis Z is so similar to the 2002 original, yet lacking something. It's as if Roth's original was cloned but a small bug got into the process making it not quite as good. None of the actors here can match Jordan Ladd's heroine nor Cerina Vincent's sexy sleaze and the effects again don't quite have that same ouch factor, some such as the aforementioned shaving sequence don't anyway.

Whereas remakes usually differ from the original film, Cabin Fever doesn't veer dramatically off course at any point so whilst i wasn't sure 100% what was coming next i always had that sense of deja-vu as it played out.

Cabin Fever is okay as a one watch film, or indeed if you've never seen the original. It certanly won't convert any Roth haters, but it might offend Roth fans. Unnecessary but still watchable.

I realize i've been a tad contradictory in my review but somehow it sums the film up.

[Nordicdusk]

Tonight im going to do a 24 hour horror-a-ton well it is a long weekend after all sure what else would you be doing. Im just going to eat two jars of coffee that should work

I used to do this with one of my mates once a year but he sold out and settled down but i still like to keep the tradition alive

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nordicdusk

Tonight im going to do a 24 hour horror-a-ton well it is a long weekend after all sure what else would you be doing. Im just going to eat two jars of coffee that should work

I used to do this with one of my mates once a year but he sold out and settled down but i still like to keep the tradition alive

We expect a full report from your 24 hour horror fest.

[Nordicdusk]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

We expect a full report from your 24 hour horror fest.

Picture of each film next to the time just for proof going to include some first time viewings and some old favourites.

[Deadite]

Originally Posted by Nordicdusk

Tonight im going to do a 24 hour horror-a-ton well it is a long weekend after all sure what else would you be doing. Im just going to eat two jars of coffee that should work

I used to do this with one of my mates once a year but he sold out and settled down but i still like to keep the tradition alive

I used to do something similar. These days, when 1 am rolls round, i'm good for nothing. zzzzzz

[Nordicdusk]

Originally Posted by Deadite

I used to do something similar. These days, when 1 am rolls round, i'm good for nothing. zzzzzz

Had planned on a few hours sleep after work but it did work out that way so coffee im counting on you

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Originally Posted by Nordicdusk

Tonight im going to do a 24 hour horror-a-ton well it is a long weekend after all sure what else would you be doing. Im just going to eat two jars of coffee that should work

I used to do this with one of my mates once a year but he sold out and settled down but i still like to keep the tradition alive

I hope this lasts longer than the 24 hour pornathon you told me about which ended in over excitement when watching the disc tray slide firmly back into the dvd player on the first film.