THE HUNT - Thomas Vinterberg co-founded the Dogme 95 movement with fellow Dane Lars von Trier, the first film produced under this manifesto was Vinterberg's 'Festen', a darkly comedic film concerning revelations made at a patriarch's sixtieth birthday. Since then von Trier has concentrated on attempting to wind-up the entire world, while Vinterberg has matured as a film-maker, as a result the former got booted from Cannes for an extremely unfunny joke and the latter directed Jagten, which is a masterpiece.

Jagten, or The Hunt, tells the story of a mild-mannered Kindergarten teacher called Lucas, who is perhaps struggling just a touch. He's going through a bitter custody battle and is only working at the Kindergarten as a result of losing his job as a teacher, he spends his spare time rattling around his home and hunting with a group of friends. He gets on well with the kids at his school, especially Klara, who is the daughter of his closest friend, Theo. After being shown a picture of male genitalia by her brother as a 'joke', Klara's over-active imagination concocts a story which she then passes on to the head of her Kindergarten. Being too young to understand the implications of her lie, she tells the head that Lucas has shown her his genitalia. This lie spreads through the village like a virus and leads to rampant hysteria, which of course has consequences.

The Hunt isn't an easy watch, I went through a whole raft of emotions while watching it, the main one being anger. This is predominantly down to Mads Mikkelsen 's superb performance, he really is excellent. There's a scene in a church where he doesn't really say a lot, but his facial expressions tell you everything you need to know. In fact, the film is full of brilliant performances. Thomas Bo Larsen is outstanding as the confused Theo and the little girl playing his daughter is equally as good.

As I said, it's not an easy film to watch, I actually felt depressed afterwards, but it's thoroughly recommended, probably my second favourite film of last year after Amour. This was my second viewing and I liked it even more this time.

POSSESSION - Żuławski wrote and directed this 1981 film while going through a bitter divorce, he decided to throw it all on screen. The result is one of the most uncomfortable films ever committed to celluloid, that's before you get to the "horror" part. Mark (Sam Neill in probably his best performance) returns home from some sort of covert operation to find that his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce. Despite her denials he suspects an affair and gradually finds some semblance of the truth. After trying to change his wife's mind he eventually decides to move out, he returns one day to find their son neglected while his wife is out entertaining god knows what, as a result he moves back in. Obviously this doesn't go down to well with Anna. What follows are some of the bitterest, most over the top scenes I've ever witnessed. The arguments these two have are so tension filled I wanted to hide behind a pillow. Neill and Adjani just throw themselves into their respective roles. Emotional violence is soon followed by physical violence, both aimed at each other and self inflicted. It's very tough to watch, absolutely horrible. Then it turns into a horror film.

You can't really go into it any further without spoiling it and Possession is a film you need to go into relatively cold. It starts out completely mental and only gets crazier from there. There's so much going on that it's difficult to pinpoint the actual point the film is trying to make. Obviously the effects of divorce are there, especially on children. At one point Doppelgangers get involved, which maybe are manifestations of idealised partners, maybe not. I watched the film again as soon as it finished, this time with the directors commentary, he didn't really expand on anything, in fact he stated that he only wanted to make a horror film, Possession is certainly that. While not completely understanding the film (and this was my third viewing) I do really like it, maybe even love it.

Possession was on the DPP's list of video nasties at one point, despite Adjani winning best actress at Cannes for her performance. It isn't overly violent, but is very unsettling and it's a difficult film to recommend, that said from a technical standpoint it's brilliant. Some of the steady-cam work rivals that of a Kubrick film and the acting is nothing short of brilliant.

Duel at Diablo (1966)

A violent American western with music reminiscent of the Spaghetti genre. Really enjoyable. So many westerns are set in studio bound towns but Duel at Diablo is shot entirely in the Utah desert.

Its a classic tale of the US cavalry, transporting ammunition, together with James Garner and Sydney Poitier along for the ride, being ambushed on their travels by Apache intent on revenge for atrocities carried out.

Garner and Poitier are both on fine form but its the forbidding landscapes and exciting gun battles with a cast of what seems like hundreds which are the real star of this film. The action is a major part of the film and at times features some nice bloody violence and torture and excellent stunt work.

The film has a cool sequence during the opening credits and then at the very end. When the United Artists logo appears on screen an Apache knife tears through the back of it to create an X then the film begins. Slasher movies definitely missed a trick with that one.

Recommended to those who like their American westerns to deliver a bit of grit.

What films have I watched.....

DEADHEADS: quite amusing indie zom-com with some pretty good performances and some nice shots. Had some genuinely funny moments but came across like it was trying to remake mallrats but with zombies. Worth a look, i picked it up on amazon for 46p.

GRANDMA'S BOY: one of my favourite comedies. Endlessly quotable and seeing Doris Roberts act stoned definitely needs to be seen.

JUST GO WITH: pretty funny Adam Sandler comedy if you like him, good chemistry between Sandler and Jennifer Aniston and pretty amusing support from Nicole Kidman and Nick Swardson.

TINA: WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT: Awesome music, brilliant performances from Lawrence Fishburn and Angela Bassett. Probably one of the best bio-pics on black american music of the 60s.

JUST FRIENDS: Another guilty pleasure of mine. Ryan Reynolds was fat and ugly now he's not and returns to his hometown and rekindles his relationship with best friend Jaime from highschool but there's a problem, he has spoilt singer Anna Faris with him. You guys probably wouldn't watch this but i find it pretty funny.

EMPIRE RECORDS: It's Rex Manning Day!!!!, love this film, great music, great lines and was pivotal during my teens much like Hackers and Tank Girl.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED: Natalie Portman in underwear for the majority of the film....

DJANGO UNCHAINED: So much better the second time around, still not as good as IB due to some scenes being either too long or out of place but Jamie Foxx is good, Sam Jackson is awesome, Leo DeCaprio is on form but the film is totally stolen by Christophe Waltz again.

PULP FICTION: Still Tarantino's best film.

LIGHTHOUSE: Pretty good British Slasher flick from the late 90s, good atmospheric setting, good performances and a really creepy killer.

HOT FUZZ: the more i watch this the funnier it gets, and stuff i missed first time around i've picked up on.

Some good picks there. Totally agree about DJANGO UNCHAINED. I tend to go see most tarantino films twice at the cinema, and with Django it got better the second time I saw it (even though I really enjoyed it first time around) The last film of Tarantino's that had this effect on me was Jackie Brown, but that was as much to do with being thrown by the more sedate pacing after Reservoir Dogs and Pulp fiction (neither of which I got to see at the cinema being too young)

Point of Terror (1971)

Watched Tucker and Dale vs Evil and The Devil's Rock
Loved Tucker and Dale vs Evil, laughed throughout the whole film and thought the whole "both sides are thinking differently" (the rednecks think that the kids are killing themselves and the kids think the rednecks are psycho killers) was pulled off tremendously.
The Devil's Rock was ok, the major problem was that the audio sometimes ended up being to low so you couldn't here what the characters are saying; which ended with me having to constantly change the volume.

Just watched Going to Pieces, great documentary about slasher films

The Monster Club. Would love to see this in HD and get the special treatment
from Arrow. Watching it now and really enjoying it.

I saw Mud at the cinema. I'm quite a fan of Jeff Nichols, but something about the trailer for this left me underwhelmed, so I caught the screening later than I normally would.

It's a very good film, but - as I somewhat anticipated - it feels like rehashed material and follows the exact path one expects from it. His previous features, Shotgun Stories and the remarkable Take Shelter, are two of my favourite American indie films of recent years, and I love Nichols' affectionate portraits of life in the more rural communities of Arkansas. Those two also star Michael Shannon who I find the most compelling screen presence, although he has a small role in Mud too.

Performance wise, it's hard to fault - McConaughey is superb, as are the two kids - but I still felt it lacked the unique edge that his previous two features had in abundance.

....

And after that tasteful fair, I watched the perfect, shlocky antidote: The Nest. Good, gruesome fun it is too.. one particularly grisly bit of effects work involving a cat made me double take (I always hate it when the animals get it) as I wasn't sure at first if it was an animatronic or a very distressed cat covered in grue. Anyway, the characters are the usual rag-tag bunch you expect from these films, including the young, inexperienced sheriff out of his depth. Of course it really gets good when the town's overrun by roaches, including what appeared to be a Gremlins homage in which a cafe waitress dispatches the little buggers in various ways, such as microwaving them, crushing them, or throwing them in the deep fryer. And later on we get some roach hybrids!

One of those films that makes you want to scratch all the way through it!

Just finished Hatchet 2, which I thought was an absolute blast! OK, it's not particularly original or clever but as a splatter flick, it works very well indeed and I thought the Victor Crowley back-story was well handled too. I picked this up in Blockbusters' 99p ex-rental sale, which seems like a bit of a bargain :)

Dredd (2012) Not too bad, better than the Stallone version which I felt was trying to hard to be a cult favourite. This version wasn't as OTT character wise and the 3D worked better than others I've seen trying to utilize the technology.

Satan's Slave ( Evil Heritage ) 1976


Was pretty gory for a British 1970's flick.

Overall a pretty good flick considering it was in a Mill Creek multi movie pack (Pure Terror).

Tonight I watched War of the Dead followed by Maniac (2013).

I have seen War of the Dead twice previously (once at Toronto After Dark in 2011 and then at Glasgow Frightfest in 2012). It's a film that has grown on me and is one of the better of the better efforts in the recent spate of Nazi zombie films.

I also saw Maniac last year at Frightfest where it greatly impressed me. The general vibe is reminiscent of Drive and the Miami Vice film with its driving electronic score and heavily processed photography. The decision to present the film from the point of view of the killer is inspired. This is one remake which really adds something new to the film it was based on. I watched it on the German Blu-ray which is mostly English friendly (some of the trailers and the short making of documentary are sadly without subs).

Got some weird italian DVD called 'dark stories'

Its loads of short movies from new zealand, all twighlight zone esque stuff and lots of weird tales. Bit of an obscurity but a good buy for £3.99

Baron Blood & Citizen Kane tonight. (Joseph Cotton double!)

CK transfer was so bad, can't believe there's a feauterette about the restoration on the disc. Will have to get the US blu next time I watch it.

Monty Python's Life of Brian - The Immaculate Edition (1979)

Watched Cronos last night again; Brilliant film even if my mates think I'm stupid.
Currently watching Brass Eye, while making my breakfast

Why would they think you're stupid? Cronos is a wonderful film and you obviously see the intelligence in it.

I wish I knew

http://oi44.tinypic.com/25oxqva.jpg

To my great surprise I've found time to watch a lot lately so just will do some quick reviews. ;)

Curse of Evil (1982)

Beware that there is a censored unsubbed version doing the rounds and an almost complete subbed version.
The censored version has better colours though. :lol:
A family with a curse,only a few surviving relatives...more will die soon...
Not bad at all and has some really jaw dropping moments (I'm used to watching these kind of films but still),would have been slapped with a cat III rating for certain a couple years later.

Flashback - Mörderische Ferien (2000)

German post-scream slasher,was having doubts about picking it up but glad I did...the facts that Elke Sommer was in it and that the original screenplay was by Jimmy Sangster won me over.
Enjoyable and some nice visuals and gore.
Watched in German with subs,probably will have a silly English dub.

Jocks (1986)

80's comedy (with some nudity thrown in) about a college tennis team.
The (short) championship matches are probably the weakest moments but overall good fun.

The Student Body aka Classroom Teasers (1976)

"Carrie, Mitzie,and Chicago get in trouble a lot in the women's prison,but are offered early parolement if they agree to become subjects of a study on human aggression and antisocial behavior at a Kansas City college.
Dr. Blalock,the professor in charge of the study,is accepting money under the table from a shady government contact to use an experimental drug on the women."
Somewhat weird but interesting film,again there's some nudity thrown in for good measure.
And there's penguins. :)

Not of This Earth (1957)

Corman again working wonders with a minuscule budget.
Enjoyable 50's scifi which may actually be helped by it's budget limitations.

Just watched J Lee Thompson's HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, struck me how similar GLENN FORD looks to Lou out of Neighbours :p

I watched Shadow Of A Doubt last night, coincidentally. I'm always amazed Cotten wasn't a much bigger star. He manages to creep up in so many of my favourite films. Aside the aforementioned, The Third Man, Gaslight, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Heaven's Gate, etc.

Watched Knightriders over the weekend on Bluray.
Great transfer, well done Arrow. Nice selection of
extras. Not one of my favourite Romero movies, but
it's still very watchable, despite the long running time.
Enjoyed it more this time in HD. Very happy with this purchase.
Highly recommended ;)

http://oi44.tinypic.com/k12xcx.jpg

Joanna (1968)

Really glad I picked this up because it's the kind of 60's counter-culture film I personally like.

I can however understand people not liking it. ;)

Loved the ending btw.

Tonight a double bill of The Collector and The Collection both on German Blu-ray. I really like the sequel which I saw at Fantasy Film Fest Days earlier in the year (see my Diary thread for my thoughts then). The Collector while watchable does not manage to climb to the same heights - so one of the few examples of a sequel outshining the original.

I watched The Collector over the weekend and, whilst it was watchable and delivered on the gore, it never really grabbed me for some reason. I think the lack of time taken on character development didn't help in that respect. Still looking forward to seeing the sequel, which I won on here a few weeks ago.

Life

The story of two criminals (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) who discover the value of life after being wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment.

I'm not usually a big fan of Eddie Murphy, but I really love this one.
Rather watch it any day of the week over "the best film ever made".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shfZNPclVmE

Ha, it even plays like a soap at times!

From 1937:

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo
Nothing Sacred
Fire Over England
All three pretty unremarkable although 'Fire...' was the better of the three

http://www.cult-labs.com/forums/memb...tml#post342792

All Superheroes Must Die (2011)

Was just ok, I found the villain to be way more interesting then the heroes.

'Killer Joe'. Entertaining enough, but not totally satisfying. Off the charts crazy, but something didn't quite work for me.

'Prometheus'. Was ok, I guess. Held my attention to the end. I don't need everything explained in a film, so was more than happy for the crashed ship/space jockey to remain a mystery in 'Alien' - in my opinion it added to the film. Not that the explanation was terrible, it just can't compete with the sense of mystery/awe you feel when watching 'Alien'.

Wanted to check out the recent German blu of 'Pulp Fiction' - great quality, compared to the crappy Aussie 1080i release. Only watched one scene - the final one, in the coffee shop, when it's held up. Still one of my fave scenes of all time, Jackson is amazing.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of Her Grave (1971)

Went to the cinema to watch FAST & FURIOUS 6

It wasn't as good as 5 but it was enjoyable. The story is there are some new crooks pulling massive hiests and The Rock wants Vin Diesel and team to help him sort it out as Letti is with them.

Hence loads of chases, fight scenes, explosions and a surprise cameo (not Rita Ora). I still feel nothing will beat 5

I really enjoyed it, but as you said, Fast Five was better. I'm looking forward to 7, and as I said elsewhere, hope they bring back Lucas Black.

Having not seen the film, but pretty much love all the others, where does it rank in comparison?

I'd say it's as good as the 4th (Fast & Furious).

Don't say that Stephen, 4 is the worst one.

Nope, that would be 2 Fast 2 Furious. :D