What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

A Clockwork Orange 1971

The film follows Alex a lover of Beethoven and with his droogs go on a rampage of ultraviolence. Alex goes too far becomes a murderer, sentenced to 15 years and tries a experiment to be reformed citizen.

From the novel by Anthony Burgess by the same name, film maker Stanley Kubrick brought us this futuristic movie. The film was made 46 years ago and is still talked about. Malcolm Mcdowell performance as Alex is spectacular. As the movie goes on you hate him but may have sympathy for him.

The film is brilliant, stunning and disturbingly entertaining, it's no means of a easy film to get through as many will be turned off by the violence and the rape scene, but if you look at it now it's like the way teens are now, out of control.

Kubrick himself dealt with a lot of issues after the film's release as it was reported the film spawned copycats portraying the antagonistic tendencies of violence and Kubrick receiving death threats to which he banned the movie from the public eye until his death and was re-release. So sit back and watch a real horrorshow oh my brothers.

[Cinematic Shocks]

Fear City (1984)

**1/2 out of *****

[Prince_Vajda]

Alien (1979). Theatrical cut.
alien.jpg


The beginning of a legendary franchise. Although it sometimes looks slightly outdated (just look at those displays...), it's still a great film. A perfect cast (especially Weaver, Hurt and the brilliant duo of engineers played by Kotto and Stanton), creature effects that still look convincing after so many years and therefore still successfully terrify the viewer, the claustrophobic setting – the pace is not perfect (especially near the end), but this film is definitely still a fine example of well-made sci-fi horror.
Recommended.

Aliens (1986). Special Edition.
aliens.jpg


Sequels rarely live up to their predecessors, and this one is no exception. Despite being definitely a well-made film, it is no masterpiece. Both the theatrical cut and the special edition are overly long; the pace is unbalanced, and for the most part, the film is quite slow. The action scenes are absolutely okay (especially given the year of production), but most of their power just fizzles out due to flat camera work and inconsistent cutting (although cutter Lovejoy was nominated for an Academy Award in 1987). Still, it's a pretty good film. Weaver is a tough lady and as convincing as ever, Biehn is a great soldier with lots of charism, and Henriksen the best android ever (although Fassbender comes in a very close second in Prometheus). The final minutes after the alien queen's first appearance are brilliant.

Alien³ (1992). Theatrical cut.
alien3.jpg


Troubled by pre-production quarrels, a haphazard script, and high expectations after Cameron's highly praised Aliens, this film was bound to fail. Director Fincher, a totally unexperienced film and quite successful music video director back then, even disowned the film and blamed the producers for the final result. Interestingly enough, the final result (i.e. the original version shown in cinemas, not the odd “assembly cut” created without the participation of Fincher) is a highly entertaining film with only minor flaws. The scenes with Weaver and Dance, for instance, are full of fondness and sincerity and their dialogue goes well beyond your average Hollywood cinema chit-chat. The rest of the cast is also fine, with stand-out peformances by real-life convict Dutton (who shows that humanity still has its place even in a world that has lost its moral compass) and Yorkshireman Glover (as the strict prison warden). There are a few plot holes (mainly: how did the alien queen embryo get inside Ripley?), but they don't really interfere with the main story. Alex Thomson's cinematography is excellent.
Highly recommended.

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highest rating: four stars

[Rik]

Because I like to have something on in the background while I do my lesson planning, I decided to watch the 4 hour Elm Street documentary Never Sleep Again yesterday, so today for some strange reason (also while lesson planning) I felt like watching the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Yes, it’s pretty poor in comparison with the original and some of the sequels, but I still quite like it for what it is.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I totally agree with you Prince Vajda regarding the Alien films. On all three counts.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I totally agree with you Prince Vajda regarding the Alien films. On all three counts.

The release of Alien: Covenant justified the purchase of Prometheus and a reappraisal of the original franchise. I'm surprised how much my opinion has changed over the last few years.

[Rik]

Followed ANOES (2010) with another remake of a Wes Craven film- Last House on the Left (2009).
I really like it, it’s definitely more violent than Craven’s original, but not as grim tbh. Still worth a watch and along with the Hills Have Eyes (2006), a decent remake of a Wes Craven film.

[SilverSurfer]

Originally Posted by Cinematic Shocks

Fear City (1984)

**1/2 out of *****

There are quite a few versions of that film around,Some are cut some uncut(ish) but as far as I know there is not a full uncut version around except on Greek and Dutch tapes.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087247/alternateversions?ref_=tt_ql_trv_5

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=962085

[Demoncrat]

Star Wars (1977 .... well parts of it are from then )
Watching this with the comm, which is fun if you want a few cherished memories destroyed
The new bits still scream CGI LOOKA ME!!!
And still add nowt to it. Yes George, if you had the tech then blah blah blah. Whatever.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Rik

(...) and along with the Hills Have Eyes (2006), a decent remake of a Wes Craven film.

I still stand by my 2015 verdict.

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) * ½
This remake of Craven’s 1977 original is a great disappointment. Director Alexandre Aja created a lifeless cardboard replica without any originality. The names of most characters, several individual scenes, bits and pieces of dialogue, clichés – apart from the remake's very own appalling carnage at the ‘ghost town’, this is (co-producer) Craven’s film transferred to 2006. Skip this film and watch the original instead; it’s far from being perfect and its ‘mutants’ are mostly funny instead of frightening, but at least you are spared the preposterous anti-nuclear propaganda of this failed remake. Half a star for the quirky gas station attendant.