What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[42ndStreetFreak]

"The Chain Reaction"

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


Aussi Nuclear waste releases conspiracy thriller about contaminated water supplies.

Despite what the documentary “Not Quite Hollywood” led me to believe there is actually very little of the promised “Mad Max” car action/violence here as I had hoped.
Although definitely cinematic in its look the film often plays like a TV conspiracy thriller with added nudity and a bit of late in the day violence.
In fact, 66 minutes in and we have had only one short car chase, no action to speak of and not much plot progression either.

But what’s really frustrating is that this long downtime between the action is not spent upping the tension or ramping up the threat.
We have no scenes of townsfolk consuming polluted water, not townsfolk feeling a bit ill or anything like that.

No, instead of threat, action and dramatic tension we instead spend far too much time watching four characters, in two separate groups, sitting around talking, talking, talking for about half the film!
Literally nothing happens.

Luckily Hugh Keys-Byrne is nearly as weird and off the wall here as a good guy, environmental activist as he was in "Mad Max" as a bad guy, biker gang, psycho so he livens the film up a bit when it needs it the most.
Steve Bisley is as rough, tough but likable as ever and has a real everyman feel about him.
And Ralph Cotterill is theatrical and campy as all hell as the suited and booted killer.

And look out for a one scene, one sentence, cameo by Mel Gibson and a slightly bigger, opening, support role for hard man Roger Ward ("Mad Max", "Turkey Shoot") looking all wrong with his wave of ginger curls!

We can give much thanks to the Cinematic Lord above that the movie finally deliver the action goods 80 (yes, count ‘em) minutes in when we get some more growling, super fast, super skilled car driving/stunt work and a little bit of shotgun bloodshed, although to be frank that shotgun violence is only one scene and it was shown in the trailer.
Ho hum.

But even now some sadness creeps into this rare action scene as much of it looks exactly the same as the earlier chase scene because it’s the same two vehicles involved, doing basically the same thing, on the same stretch of road!
In fact I’m not sure that some shots of the two vehicles side by side is not the exact same footage in both sequences!

It wants to be “Mad Max” but lacks the action, grit and violence, it wants to be “The China Syndrome” but lacks the dramatic tension, expert plot structure and serious acting chops.

So overall “The Chain Reaction” is a missed opportunity.
Its intentions are good, it’s technically solid, well enough acted and has the very, very occasional exciting moment.
But it’s extremely drawn out and static for much of the running time and far from the exciting action thriller it should have been and ultimately feels like two genres stuck together, with the joins painfully visible.

Has some worth, but was ultimately a rather big let down sadly.

[nekromantik]

Just seen Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
Where do I start, they changed bits of it and some bits made me laugh.
It was alright but not great, the dream sequences were pretty cool but the bad CGI ending proper ruined it. Plus Jackie Earl's voice was the same as in Watchmen so every time he spoke trying to be scary I kept thinking of Rorshak. I didnt expect it to be any good but if they put in more effort it could have worked. It was not that bloody either and I suspect only reason it got a 18 would be the lines about "wet dream" and "your mind says no but your body says yes". They explained the backstory a bit more which I liked. They said it has quite a few scenes missing so known Platinum Dunes they will release a "unrated" or "extended" version on dvd with more scenes like Friday the 13th.

[bdc]

Watched recently

The Harem (1967) (Impressive drama/thriller all'Italiana)
Death Occurred Last Night (more of a police procedural than a giallo but a nice unusual approach)
Monster of Florence (interesting and brutal,based on real events)
Clap,You're Dead (Love it!,really fun giallo)
Manhattan Baby (better than I remembered,considering the production problems it's pretty decent)
The Black Cat (1981) (solid very late Italian gothic,an update of the classic tale)
Return of the Living Dead (untouched original version,classic status is well earned)
Night of the Demons 1+2+3 (the original is without a doubt the best one)
The House by the Cemetery (always feel I need a shower after watching this one but solid gothic influenced horror,a fumetti come to life!)
Sadomania (good ideas but no budget)
Dead Snow (not bad but could have been much better)
Total Recall (need to see this once a year,fantastic sci-fi)
Blue Steel (not bad at all and even refreshing when viewed now)

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by bdc

Watched recently


Clap,You're Dead

Sounds like a really over the top sexual health film!

[vincenzo]

Erotic Inferno

Typical but surprisingly mean-spirited Brit sex comedy from the 70's. Two brothers (one of them a young Chris Chittell) return to claim their late father's inheritance but find themselves at odds with his freaky butler (who turns out to be their brother). In the meantime they bonk every girl in the village.

Familiar names and faces including Jenny Westbrook, Michael Sheard (Grange Hill's Mr Bronson), Heather Deeley and Mary Maxted (ie Millington). I watched the Hokushin pre-cert which features the 'uncut' UK version (before the cinema cuts) and, though the film has the usual silliness and typical 70's sex scenes (and music) it also has a mean side, with a vicious scene where Jeannie Collings is beaten and almost drowned in a bathroom. A sadistic side of these films, which was also echoed in The Amorous Milkman and Adventures Of A Plumber's Mate.

Unpleasant and not recommended. Eskimo Nell was much funnier.

[bdc]

Originally Posted by 42ndStreetFreak

Sounds like a really over the top sexual health film!

Actually it's a reference to a clapboard since the murders all revolve around a movie that's being made.
It's a fun send-up of the Italian film industry.

[Gigantor]

DRAWN TOGETHER THE MOVIE
HERE WATCH THIS
KICKASS(Again)

[antmumford]

So overall “The Chain Reaction” is a missed opportunity.
Its intentions are good, it’s technically solid, well enough acted and has the very, very occasional exciting moment.
But it’s extremely drawn out and static for much of the running time and far from the exciting action thriller it should have been and ultimately feels like two genres stuck together, with the joins painfully visible.

I watched this just yesterday and thought exactly the same, I did enjoy it but I expected more.
Straight after I then watched Razorback which I thought was brilliant. It's easily the best Ozploitation film I've seen so far. Well acted, beautifully shot with wonderful cinematography and superbly directed. All disguised as a low budget animal horror. Other than the low budget look of the Razorback it was a solid effort from the Aussies. Loved every second of it.

I went to cinema last night and had a double wammy. First I saw Iron Man 2. I thought it was great, if you like the first one (which I really did) you'll like this. It's no worse but no better than the first one which is quite a rare thing for sequels. Throughly enjoyed it, it had humour and great action pieces. The Iron Man films are easily the best Comic Book adaptions out there.
Then went for dinner and came back to watch Nightmare on Elm Street and I thought exactly the same as Nekromantik, couldn't have put it better myself.

Just seen Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
Where do I start, they changed bits of it and some bits made me laugh.
It was alright but not great, the dream sequences were pretty cool but the bad CGI ending proper ruined it. Plus Jackie Earl's voice was the same as in Watchmen so every time he spoke trying to be scary I kept thinking of Rorshak. I didnt expect it to be any good but if they put in more effort it could have worked. It was not that bloody either and I suspect only reason it got a 18 would be the lines about "wet dream" and "your mind says no but your body says yes". They explained the backstory a bit more which I liked. They said it has quite a few scenes missing so known Platinum Dunes they will release a "unrated" or "extended" version on dvd with more scenes like Friday the 13th.

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

The important question is: Is The A Nightmare On Elm Street remake better that the piece of crap that is the remake of Friday The 13th?

[Gojirosan]

Originally Posted by antmumford

Straight after I then watched Razorback which I thought was brilliant. It's easily the best Ozploitation film I've seen so far. Well acted, beautifully shot with wonderful cinematography and superbly directed. All disguised as a low budget animal horror. Other than the low budget look of the Razorback it was a solid effort from the Aussies. Loved every second of it.

This is a weird one. I have seen a lot of people giving good words about Razorback in retrospect. When it came out it was largely considered a stupid piece of crap from a self-deluded pop video director. WHen I saw it I agreed. I thought it was absolutely awful. I hated it and all other Russell Mulcahy films I have seen. The man is singularly untalented, in my opinion.

But now everyone seems to be heaping praise on Razorback! This is the stupid giant pig film, yeah? Jaws meets Mad Max with none of the skill of either, yeah? What's going on? What did I miss?

I think it might be time to revisit the film. I am intrigued.