What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

THE MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL MASSACRE – A not massively well known regional indie from 1983. There's a bare bones plot about a middle aged hotel proprietor, just released from the local sanatorium, slowly building up to a serial killing spree. Along the way, she torments her guests by means of snakes, roaches and other foulness planted in their rooms. 'The Mountaintop Motel Massacre' is an odd one for sure. What do you make of a film where the 'hero' is basically a rapist (a sorry ass dude who connives sex out of a hitch-hiker by lying to her about being a record producer)? The set up is probably a rip of 'Psycho' (or 'Psycho 2', out the same year), and there are many references to same throughout, but, although TMMM is a vastly inferior movie by comparison, it's strong on a number of levels. It's ponderous and sometimes plods mid-section, but it's really atmospheric as well as just being a bit 'eh?' The strangeness of the scene where the hotel manger kills her daughter (who appears to commune with spirits with her goat and raven in an underground lair) is one thing, but then there are loads of other instances of weirdly arbitrary stylisation. The central character of the homicidal hotelier is well played, mostly silent and as inscrutable as Michael Myers in a way as we don't have a clue really who she is or why she's doing this stuff. I was slightly surprised to find that it was so well made – although TMMM is obviously really low budget, it's well shot and technically proficient whereas quite often the less well financed indie horrors of the day were not. Overall, TMMM is probably too awkward and odd to suit the tastes of anyone looking for a smooth ride with a bit of gore, but I'd certainly recommend it to early eighties and slasher completists.

Excellent review; I really need to rewatch this in the next few days.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Mother! (Darren Aranofsky)
It's always nice to go to the pictures. Whether or not you enjoy something is part of the tension betwixt art and the spectator. Writ large on the screen, easily the most cutely pretentious film I've seen this year ..... but enough about The Mummy already.
Great sound design accentuated this dance of death .... Oscar worthy if indeed that matters one jot.
10/10 for effort. 8/10 for execution.

I'm really in two minds about this film, the reviews are such polar extremes... I want to like it but fear i'll think it's faff, time is always precious and a trip to the cinema is 3-4hrs out of your day. However, I get the feeling that Bladerunner is going to be my last trip this year! It had better be good

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I However, I get the feeling that Bladerunner is going to be my last trip this year! It had better be good

That bible of all things film related, The Daily Mail, gave it the full five stars. I've just read it in Sainsbury's. Says it's better than the original.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

That bible of all things film related, The Daily Mail, gave it the full five stars. I've just read it in Sainsbury's. Says it's better than the original.

Well... I'm not holding my expectations that high I'm going to go and see it at the weekend I think. I'll watch a few reviews on YouTube after work anyway, the Mark Kermode one should be out now, and I know Kim Newman has written about it as well, I saw it on Twitter.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

Well... I'm not holding my expectations that high I'm going to go and see it at the weekend I think. I'll watch a few reviews on YouTube after work anyway, the Mark Kermode one should be out now, and I know Kim Newman has written about it as well, I saw it on Twitter.

On first viewing it's bound to be better than the original was on it's debut. At least for me. I hated Bladerunner for years after i first saw it on vhs.

It's only this century i've come to appreciate it.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

On first viewing it's bound to be better than the original was on it's debut. At least for me. I hated Bladerunner for years after i first saw it on vhs.

It's only this century i've come to appreciate it.

I had a similar reaction on first viewing but I didn't hate it, I just didn't get what all of the fuss was about. I watched it as an adult and loved it. I hope this sequel is better but I'm not expecting it to. I do get carried away at the cinema though, I even came out of Independence Day 2 thinking it awesome

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I had a similar reaction on first viewing but I didn't hate it, I just didn't get what all of the fuss was about. I watched it as an adult and loved it. I hope this sequel is better but I'm not expecting it to. I do get carried away at the cinema though, I even came out of Independence Day 2 thinking it awesome

I just choked on some diet Coke when i read that. Cheers bud!

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Blade Runner has grown on me over the years to the point where it is one of my all-time favourite films, and certainly one of the few I will quickly upgrade from standard to Ultra HD Blu-ray.

As for the sequel, I rate the original so highly that it has big shoes to fill, but the trailers and initial responses seem to indicate that it may come close to surpassing my expectations and reaching my hopes.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Blade Runner has grown on me over the years to the point where it is one of my all-time favourite films, and certainly one of the few I will quickly upgrade from standard to Ultra HD Blu-ray.

As for the sequel, I rate the original so highly that it has big shoes to fill, but the trailers and initial responses seem to indicate that it may come close to surpassing my expectations and reaching my hopes.

You mean you expect it to be shit but hope it isn't?

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

You mean you expect it to be shit but hope it isn't?

No, they're my expectations