What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

@Dave - Is Murder by the Clock available on dvd?

[Dave Boy]

^ There is no official release Dem. The only way you can get it is a copy from an ebay seller but it is well worth it.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Dave Boy

^ There is no official release Dem. The only way you can get it is a copy from an ebay seller but it is well worth it.

Cheers, Dave.

You inadvertently reminded me of The Shuttered Room so i just ordered that along with It on a double feature from WOWHD.

WOWHD seem to have reduced their dvd prices a bit which is good.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Day of the Dead (1985)

George A Romero's third zombie film in which the ghouls now outnumber humans by 40,000 to 1 adds interesting new concepts to the formula.

The main one being that one zombie, affectionately known as Bub, has developed rudimentary forms of human behaviour and understanding - a concept that is taken even further in belated follow up film Land of the Dead (2005) - it's this breakthrough work that fuels the bulk of the film which is set in an underground Florida missile silo as the small group of scientists leading the exploration frequently come into conflict with the just as small band of hot headed military types assigned to protect them but are more interested in blowing the ghouls away than training them in human life skills.

In truth the plot is fairly slight but is bulked out by a nightmarish framing device and an eye in the sky exploration of local Everglade towns and is driven along by very strong performances by all involved, in particular Lori Cardille's all action doctor and Joe Pilato's manic and unhinged Captain Rhodes.

Where Day of the Dead ups the ante from previous Romero zombie movies is in Tom Savini's gut wrenching (literally) gore FX. They are truly stomach churning with outstanding sequences of flesh munching, ripping and disemboweling.

Following on from the campy romp that was 1978's Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead is a deadly serious shocker. The majority of characters are flawed at best or extremely unlikable in the main giving the film an air of cheerless sombreness and although we finish on a happy ending the overall tone is as grim and unforgiving as hell itself.

[iank]

The Sea Wolves. Allied ships are being sunk by German U-boats with unerringly accurate data on their position. When attempts to infiltrate the spy ring fail, the decision is made to destroy the German ship transmitting the info - but it's situated in neutral territory, so a group of retired old wardogs are unofficially conscripted to take on the dangerous task. There's a great cast in this early 80s WWII adventure including Roger Moore, Gregory Peck, David Niven, Patrick Macnee and host of recognisable British character actors, but it never really takes flight to become more than average, mainly thanks to glacial pacing.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Vice (2018) ★★★½

Although I'm not a big fan of Adam McKay's work with Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guys), I was very impressed by The Big Short so eagerly anticipated watching Vice, a film which sees him reunited with Christian Bale and Steve Carell.

The film is ambitious, spanning several decades in American politics (approximately 1963 to 2001) and begins with Dick Cheney and other people in the White House responding to the September 11, 2001 attacks before moving to 1963 Wyoming where an alcoholic Cheney faces life changing decisions..

Following his movements in political circles through the 1960s to the 1990s where he assesses the role of vice president and agrees to be George W. Bush's running mate in the 2000 election. The film is a scurrilous of a controversial and significant figure in modern US political history.

The film uses a variety of different storytelling devices, but the most common is to see events through the eyes of Kurt, and his fictitious, though believable, experiences in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, showing how Cheney played a critical role in them.

I studied the US politics of this era at university so had no problems keeping up with events; I've no idea whether this would be as accessible for someone with (at best) a passing interest in US political matters.

Christian Bale's central performance is remarkable, he inhabits the role of Dick Cheney so convincingly there were occasions where I had to do a double take because I thought I was watching the stock footage. The same can be said for Steve Carell's portrayal of Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush and Colin Powell, as played by Tyler Perry. Although there is not the same physical resemblance, Amy Adams is tremendous as Lynne Cheney.

It's a very energetic and lively film, one which makes Cheney's political machinations and geopolitical events interesting and approachable, never becoming bogged down in detail and the minutiae of policy decisions. It's a film with a scattershot approach to history, but one which hits more than it misses. I occasionally wished it had narrowed its focus to concentrate on a smaller period to really drill into the relationships between Cheney, Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby, George Tenet, and Karl Rove.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Green Book (2018) ★★★½

When I saw this at the cinema, I thought it was an enjoyable and thought-provoking film, though not one which struck me as one of the best I'd seen that year so I was a little surprised when it won the coveted Best Picture Oscar. However, having thought about it, the parallels to Driving Miss Daisy, another unlikely Best Picture Oscar-winner, are fairly clear to see, so it's appeal to the voters is probably not quite as remarkable as I first thought.

The film's strength is to shine a light on deeply ingrained racial prejudice in the southern states of the US, prejudice that was overt in those southern states to the point where black people were treated as second-class citizens. This is very different to the racism of one of the two main characters, Tony Lip, a man who bins the glasses his black plumbers used and casually refers to them as mulignanes (Italian for eggplant) to family members.

When he is paired with the educated, refined pianist Dr Don Shirley, their cultural clash sees both men being exposed to a culture they barely knew. Because of the arrangement between them, they were spending eight weeks together, so were unable to escape or reduce that exposure, so each man learns about the other, gradually softening and learning the power of understanding and acceptance.

I understand the appeal of the film's central message and, because it is based on a true story and real people, it's easy to understand Tony's shock and distaste for the southern racism whereby someone he is growing to consider a friend is treated appallingly, making him aware of his own prejudices.

Without the powerhouse performances from Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, I don't think the film would have been the critical or commercial success it was, and I was amazed to see the end credits in the cinema and discover it was directed by Peter Farrelly, one half of the team behind Dumb and Dumber, Shallow Hal, and There's Something about Mary. It is a very different film to those he made with his brother, Bobby, and shows he can make very good dramatic films as well as comedies.

Green Book is a film that feels important and one that tells a story which should be received by as many people as possible. Farrelly's deft direction enables this to happen – it's a film which could have been an unadulterated failure – but it is clearly well directed and, with Mortensen and Ali giving extremely good performances, it's a thoughtful, emotionally engaging, and tastefully funny buddy movie.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Despite there being so much to like about this movie it just never gripped me. At over two hours it felt too long and the story never really engaged me.

I don't suppose it helped that i read the book when it first came out in hardback so i more or less knew how it unfolded but those were the times where i and other Stephen King fans felt his wife did most of the writing for him (Gerald's Game to Rose Madder) giving his stories less of an impact in comparison to what had come prior.

As for the film, well it looks great, the Maine locations (where else) are suitably gloomy, and i can't fault the performances. Kathy Bates is as great as ever and Christopher Plummer also excels as an aging policeman determined to bring Bates to book for a crime she seems to have committed. However Jennifer Jason Leigh, defending her mother, just about steals the film in the final courtroom style showdown.

[Nostalgic]

Leprechaun 1&2.....

1 is really not as good as I remember from the vhs days, however 2 is better! It has a full moon vibe & is loads of fun!

Working my way through the 7 film blu ray set (region A only sadly), solid making ofs & commentaries galore!
Next on to Leprechaun in Vegas!

[Justin101]

Batman & Robin (1997) in 4k!



Well... I enjoyed it