What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[iank]

The Magnificent Seven. A small farming community terrorised by outlaws who steal most of their crops hire a group of gunslingers to fight back. Yul Brynner leads a fine cast (Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn) in this surprisingly still very entertaining and pacy 1960 Western action-adventure. Good fun, I enjoyed it.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Ant-Man and the Wasp 2018

A superhero film that tries to do something a bit different. Rather than chucking planets at one another Ant Man and the Wasp deals with the real world - car chases, shoot outs, that kinda stuff, but the fact it's all done Incredible Shrinking Man style makes it suitably different and also a lot of fun.

Despite the film being populated by high calibre actors such as Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne, it was the presence of the lovely Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp that made me want to watch this film in the first place.

[Demoncrat]

I too enjoyed this sequel. Douglas a hoot etc.

A View To A Kill (1985, John Glen)
Tired outing from Moore & co. Walken in a different film as far as I could SEE . Won't return to this in a hurry.


Cannonball Run II (1984, Hal Needham)
Enjoyable fluff. The gang return (with a few replacements/newbies natch ) for more high speed hi jinks .... Telly Savalas learns to fly . The live action Tex Avery bits with the two mobsters . Burt giggles. Recommended for undemanding / supporting feature

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

This week's viewings:

Multiple Maniacs (1970)

Raw, guerilla style film making with Waters' unique flair that has permeated his work throughout the decades. This one is rough and ready and flirts with ideas we see repeated (and more-polished) in later Waters works. Divine being of course a character for the ages.



68/100


Prince of Darkness (1987)

A Carpenter that I seem to enjoy the more I watch it. It has its faults, but the overall product is one which really gels with my sensibilities and the more so I watch it.



86/100


Charley Varrick (1973)

First-time viewing of this '70s crime thriller, which sees the cool and collected yet calculating Charley on the run from both the police and the mob after robbing a bank that just happens to be a mob-drop off point for laundered cash. With a tight, engaging story and a great central character in Water Matthau's Charley, this is how a crime film should be and is probably why I'm ambivalent to most modern offerings. Highly recommended.



81/100


Flowers in the Attic (1987)

This one seems to get mixed reviews, I'm guessing based on it either going off-piste from the source material or 'dumbing it down' in terms of the relationship of brother & sister Chris & Kathy. Either way, I have no point of reference as I have not read the book that this one was based on. Overall I found this one to be fairly enjoyable despite an almost 'Waltons' vibe to some of the acting, but it is a decent thriller concerning the gradual abandonment and distraught leveled at four children who are locked in the attic of their Grandparents' country manor and the hardships they endure and the shocking revelations they must face.



73/100


What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Comedy-horror shot in a documentary style about three vampires living in New Zealand in modern times and the trials and tribulations they must face living in modern society. A hell of a lot of fun and it remains to be one of my favourite horror comedies of the past decade.



83/100


The Devonsville Terror (1983)

'80s occult vehicle concerning the Devonsville witches who were tortured and murdered by the towns-folk 300 years ago. Cue a re-incarnated witch moving into town just as two other liberated women do. This upsets the bigoted community who then set about killing these outsiders whilst the re-incarnated witch gets her revenge. Donald Pleasence plays the doctor researching the curse and provides a little bit more weight to the proceedings. Other than that and some gloopy effects near the end, there isn't much else to watch this one for.



51/100


To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

This one plays out like my '80s blue-print for a cop/crime thriller. It ticks all the boxes without becoming cheesy, drawn-out or procedural. It's almost like an '80s Noir but without the nuances. You instead have a determined cop trying to track down his partner's killer who was only two days from retirement, combined with a ruthless villain, an ensemble of supporting cast who really dial it in in terms of their performances as well as the '80s action staples such as car chases and shoot-outs. Add a down-beat ending and you have the makings of a great '80s cop thriller wrapped in the trappings of a Neo-Noir.



81/100


The First Power (1990)

Cop thriller meets occult horror as a man sent to the gas chamber is resurrected as a demon. It is then down to cop who put him away to stop him as the bodies start to pile up. Despite some pacing issues, this on gels the cop thriller and occult horror fairly successfully. There are also some fun effects and set-pieces dotted throughout.



59/100


The Guardian (1990)

Druid magic collides with suburban nanny. Whilst the film feels a little disjointed in places, there are some stand-out scenes here - the druid scenes taking place at the tree, as well as the wolf attacks in the house and the finale which make for a fairly tense-filled and enjoyable horror-thriller overall.



65/100


Julie Darling (1983)

Low-budget psychological thriller / exploitationer concerning a Julie, who loves her daddy a little too much for comfort. When Julie purposefully fails to act when a man rapes and kills her mother in their home, she is less than pleased when her father re-marries his mistress a short time after. She tracks down the killer after she purposefully fails to recognise him in a police line-up and enlists his services to kill her step mother when her father is out making it look like a robbery. Not all goes to plan however... this one was a nice surprise, as despite the subject matter it is fairly well-written, if a little predictable with decent performances all around.



71/100


The Changeling (1980)

Solid haunted house tale which whilst fairly long doesn't overstay its welcome. This one I know has a lot of stalwart fans and whilst it's one I rate fairly highly, it's certainly not my favourite ghostly tale; myself much preferring The Haunting, The Innocents, and The Legend of Hell House.



73/100


Serial Mom (1994)

The week ended as it started with a dose of John Waters. Whilst the two films are poles apart there is no mistaking Waters' wit and unique style is firmly embedded here. Whilst no Divine and co. this is a lot of fun and Kathleen Turner is great as our suburban serial killer.



78/100

[Justin101]

With all the hype about Second Sight doing Dawn of the Dead later this year I decided to watch it again this afternoon. I watched Zombi, the European edit, which was the one I watched last time around as well. I'm still a bit undecided. I like the edit because it tightens everything up a bit and takes out a lot of the humour, I especially appreciate not having to see the zombie with the obviously extended head getting a helicopter haircut

However, the soundtrack is really heavy handed and in most scenes completely over powers the onscreen action. This is where I'm conflicted because I love the Goblin soundtrack and the boring library music used in the two American cuts is frankly rubbish, but Argento really pushes Goblin in the mix and often so loud you can barely hear the dialogue!

I also forgot how bad the acting is from pretty much everyone who isn't one of the main 4

[Justin101]

I also watched Candyman last night, and it's a great film, not seen it for years, I forgot how grim and depressing it was What also struck me was how amazing the opening credits are!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I'm also a big advocator of all things Goblin, yet I felt the same way about their score last time I watched Zombi too, Justin.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I'm also a big advocator of all things Goblin, yet I felt the same way about their score last time I watched Zombi too, Justin.

To me Dawn of the Dead is the zombie film you love as a kid. But when you grow up and begin to appreciate films a bit more you realise that Day and Night of are far, far superior.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

To me Dawn of the Dead is the zombie film you love as a kid. But when you grow up and begin to appreciate films a bit more you realise that Day and Night of are far, far superior.

I totally agree with this, although I never saw any of the 3 while I was still a kid as zombies scared the pants off me However, Dawn was my favourite once I saw it (Anchor Bay double VHS) when I was in my late teens/twenties but now (more) grown up I like Night for the tension and Day for the interesting story it tells and the characters. Dawn is now just a big, dumb action film that's a bit too long and sags in the middle. All three of them are still cracking films though.



I might watch Snyder's remake tomorrow night, I've not seen that for a long time!

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

To me Dawn of the Dead is the zombie film you love as a kid. But when you grow up and begin to appreciate films a bit more you realise that Day and Night of are far, far superior.

Nah, still the best of the original trilogy for me, but I would say that because it’s been my favourite Horror film since about 1991!