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The Friends Of Eddie Coyle - Probably one of my top ten films of all time with arguably one of Robert Mitchum’s greatest performances (and boy is there some competition). Mitchum plays the titular character, a down on his luck figure on the fringes of the Boston Irish mob who is looking at a stretch inside and is working his hardest to provide some cash for his working class family and perhaps avoid his sentence. Peter Boyle also pops up as a character in a similar position, although his head is slightly more above water. Cracking stuff. 9/10 ExistenZ - While I’ve always considered ExistenZ a minor work from Cronenberg, it’s a film I’ve always enjoyed... until last night. For some reason it really irked me. I found the dialogue clunky and too on the nose and the performances range from poor to adequate. Still, thematically it’s interesting and there’s still enough there to keep you interested. It hasn’t aged well though which is odd as most of Cronenberg’s work has aged like fine wine. 5/10 |
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The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) To me The Evil of Frankenstein is more of a curiosity than a genuine entry in the Hammer Frankenstein series. Co-produced by Universal Studios, this ignores the first two Hammer Frankenstein films (Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) ) and gives itself a re-boot with a newly created history in flashback that borrows much from Universal's own Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1945). Given Universal's interference the monster utilised aspects of Jack Pierce's original Karloff monster design but it all looks so clunky and cardboardy. The ever excellent Peter Cushing gives a spirited performance as the Baron as does Peter Woodthorpe as Zoltan, a hypnotist who gains control of the Baron's creation to carry out his own nefarious deeds. All in all, The Evil of Frankenstein isn't a bad film, yet it isn't wonderful either. The monster doesn't appear properly until the last half hour and the re-boot flashback structure of the film's opening half hour slows things down to a snails pace. There are plot contrivances in order to win over a new Universal Horror audience but these make the film's storyline and especially the dialogue appear quite clumsy and poorly written. A more detailed review appears here. https://www.cult-labs.com/forums/mem...tml#post577375 |
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Hysteria Lives commentary for Rawhead Rex, this is my third viewing of Rawhead in two weeks, very happy with all of the extras, I'm trying to go through everything before filing away as I have a ton of discs with unwatched extras (including loads of Hysteria Lives comms) sitting in the loft. Tried watching the huge doc on Arrow's Night of the Hunter but got bored after 30 mins as not engrossing. Started the equally mammoth Kong doc (2 hours 38 mins) on the Premium release, this one is engrossing & well worth a watch! I have all my Cronnenberg discs down to go through the extras & have 2 left to go on Existenz alone. Also brought down Re Animator as I wanted to justify buying the Umbrella release....but I can't. Second sight's release of the first & Arrow's release of Bride are pretty much the last word on those 2, and the interviews on Arrow's release of Beyond Re Animator pretty much cover everything. Will be getting Dagon, although it's missing the Gordon commentary from the r1 dvd. |
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Watched the purge films for the first time this is how i rate them Purge 6.5/10 Purge anarchy 7.5/10 Purge election year 7/10 Great prequel too planet of the apes while it might not be quite the classic the first film is it's superior to the sequels. Sadly it and its sequels are dismissed by some , which is a shame as they are good films, which is largely thanks to Andy Serkis amazing performance as Caesar who portrays such depth and emotion in Caesar. 8.5/10 Now watching independence day. |
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__________________ RIP Douglas White. 11-06-33 - 01-07-2017 |
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A couple of French language films from NOW TV before the cinema subscription runs out: The Brand New Testament In this absurdist Belgian comedy, God is a complete bastard. He is a hard drinking, heavy smoking cruel and indicative man who lives in Brussels, takes delight in the fact his son was stupid enough to get caught and executed, verbally abuses his wife and beats his 10-year-old daughter, Ea. He created human kind because he was bored and chickens and giraffes weren't interesting enough, making such rules as the optimum amount of sleep is always 10 minutes more, a slice of bread and jam will always land jam side down, and the next queue always moves faster than the one you're in for his own entertainment. After a consultation with her brother, Ea decides to sabotage his computer and escape their tiny apartment so she can recruit six apostles (to make 18 in total, the same number as on a baseball team, something which will make her mother happy) to write a new book and improve the world. Before escaping, she sends out a message to everyone on earth informing them how much time they have left before they die, something which has both hilarious and tragic results. The premise sounded interesting and I did worry that the film wouldn't live up to its promise, but fortunately it does and the apostles, plus the man, Victor, she convinces to write the book, Ea recruits are interesting and funny characters with a degree of tragedy and comedy to their situations. If you have Sky Cinema this is well worth watching. Raw Another film in the world cinema section, and one which stood out because of its premise: Justine is a staunch vegetarian enrols at a prestigious veterinarian school (joining her sister and following in the footsteps of both parents). Along with the other rookies, she is faced with a series of initiation tasks, one of which is to eat a raw rabbit's liver. Because of our upbringing, this decision is not an easy one, but what happens has far reaching consequences. It's probably not too much of a spoiler to say that unlocks a previously hidden appetite, and one that extends well beyond bunnies! I didn't realise this when I began watching it, but it's a film that critics, particularly Mark Kermode, have championed, with Kermode giving it five stars in his Observer review and considering it one of the best films of last year. It's easy to see why because the writing and directing by Julia Ducournau has echoes of Brian DePalma (another initiation ritual evokes Carrie), David Cronenberg in its body horror, and even Gaspar Noé in terms of the colour and disorientating camera angles and movement. Garance Marillier is superb in the lead role, definitely an actor to watch out for, because she is able to convey incredible vulnerability, strength, menace, loneliness and savagery with ease, all of these are blended together to make Justine such a compelling character and her journey such a fascinating watch. Like The Brand New Testament, this is something to watch if you have the Sky Cinema package, but is also good enough that a blind buy would not be a foolish move – it's easy to see why it is so critically acclaimed and was very successful on the European festival circuit.
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The Full Treatment (1960). Another great suspense thriller in the superb Hammer Vol 2 Blu-ray set from Indicator. Renowned racing driver Alan Colby, is involved in a major crash shortly after getting married. His wife Denise, played by Diane Cilento, from The Wicker Man, escapes unscathed. Alan, however, has serious head injuries. After eventually recovering, he finds that he has murderous impulses towards his wife. Eventually, he reluctantly seeks help from a psychiatrist, who he and his wife meet whilst on vacation in the south of France. But is all that what it seems? Although it felt a bit dragged out at times, it's nevertheless an excellent, well made film. And a great addition to any Hammer fan's collection. 7/10. |
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Captain Underpants Looking back on it, this is firmly in the same category as Bee Movie and Enchanted, two films I had no intention of watching at the cinema but ended up doing so and really enjoyed when I did so. I love Enchanted, Bee Movie not as much. With Captain Underpants, I thought it was the film aimed at primary school aged children (not even Mark Kermode tweeting about paying to watch it, including viewing after the press screening, convinced me otherwise) so, unlike the two previously mentioned films, I didn’t avoid it at home viewing, but just didn’t bother with it until my brother told me it was good fun. The film follows two young friends, George and Harold, next door neighbours who are virtually inseparable – even at school – and basically have two loves in life: pulling pranks on teachers and their comic book creation: Captain Underpants. When an attempted prank involving tampering with toilets and a new invention is foiled by the school nurse, the school principal, Mr Krupp is about to sign a bit of paper putting them in separate classes when George hypnotises him with a ring from a cereal box. After a brief test to see the hypnosis is real, the two have a brainwave: tell Mr Krupp he is Captain Underpants. This is intense but problematic and hilarious because there is a certain gravitas expected from a school principal, one that is severely undermined when he was nothing but large Y fronts and a red cape. Fortunately, they find the process is reversible but, when the classroom separation paper re-appears, back to hypnosis and its Captain Underpants time again! I think even if I hadn’t been expecting something childish and basically written, I would have loved this in the same way I did with the SpongeBob SquarePants films as they work on two levels because of jokes aimed at different audiences from different generations and cultures. Street Trash Directed by Michael Muro as part of one of Roy Frumkes’ class projects, Street Trash is a tough film to describe as it occupies a special place in cinema, between absolute schlock and student film. With a low budget and featuring people who had never previously acted or worked on a film set before (including one Bryan Singer!), it is tagged as ‘The Ultimate Melt Movie’ and revolves around a case of dangerous Tenafly Viper. The film follows a group of derelicts who either sleep rough on the streets or, for the most part, in the junkyard owned by the grotesquely overweight Frank Schnizer, a behemoth who lusts over Wendy, one of his employees, and tries in vain to get rid of the hobos who take up residence amongst the rusting vehicles and also try their luck with her. Two of these are brothers Fred and Kevin, one older and more streetwise and the other young (about 14 years old) and dependant on others for food. Fred finds the local liquor store selling Viper for a dollar a bottle and, with this just within his budget, buys one only to have it nicked by another bum. Furious about having his fix stolen, Fred doesn’t realise that the thief has taken a swig and dissolved on a fire escape! With other street trash discovering the cheap hooch, various members of the homeless community meet grizzly deaths, It’s not just the Viper they have to worry about as Bronson, a deranged Vietnam vet with a dagger carved from a human femur, his very dangerous and protective of his girlfriend, Winette. When a gangster’s wife goes missing after drunkenly wandering into the junkyard with Fred, the police become involved and Bill, a tough street cop looking into the dead tramps, finds himself investigating a murder and a case of necrophilia. Street Trash is a prime example of a cult film with a sizeable following and it’s easy to see why as the film is such fun with grungy effects which are far from convincing, bizarre humour and a sense of energy and ambition. Any movie that features a game of ‘catch’ with a hobo’s severed penis (obviously a dildo) gets a vote from me because it demonstrates everything about the tone and content. Roy Frumkes is probably best known for his terrific Document of the Dead documentary which was made over several years about Dawn of the Dead and I had no idea that he was a teacher (now professor) at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and used his students to help him move house and fulfil his filmmaking ambitions. After writing Street Trash, the production was undertaken by members of his class with Frumkes as producer. It reminded me a great deal of films like Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case, Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste and Braindead and Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead with the audacious effects, puppets and larger-than-life characters. Street Trash is directed and acted with real wit and energy and the acting is surprisingly accomplished, from Mike Lackey’s Fred to R.L. Ryan’s grotesque Frank and Tony Darrow’s excellent turn as the mobbed up Nick. The film is a whole lot of fun and I think I have four copies across different formats, including the Synapse and 88 Films Blu-ray releases; it's something I can watch almost any time and find a scene, line, or practical effects to enjoy.
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