What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

Which of the 10000 arrow versions did you watch!

Neither...I watched it on Shudder

[Dave Boy]

7584983_master.jpg
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004)

I had not watched this movie in a while ever since the 25th Anniversary stage show came out and eclipsed it.
This is really good. All the cast do a great job and the whole film looks really good. Being so familiar with the stage show though, it threw me when dialogue which should be sung is sometimes spoken. There are some scenes that are not in the stage show but they never really have botherd me that much. The chandelier scene has also been moved to near the finale.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Satan's Blade (1984)

Satan's Blade is one of those low budget regional horror films that possess what can only be described as an atmosphere of lethargy throughout much of the run time. It's that basic issue of an eventful, gory beginning and a similar ending...but what the f*ck do we do the rest of the time?

The answer in the majority of these cheap and cheerful productions is to let the actors act, or shall we say, let them talk and 'do stuff'. As all this takes place in a remote Californian mountain ski lodge it kind of generates an aura of other worldlyness as if the viewer is invading privacy as these people go about their mundane lives.

It can't all be nattering though. There is a plot (Of sorts) and the idea there might be some sort of supernatural entity stalking the unwary travelers, aided somewhat by an extraordinary stalk 'n slash dream sequence which i'm convinced is only there to stir you out of your soporific state.

I've begun to enjoy films of this ilk for both what they are and also what they lack. If you can find a your own zone of tranquility in films such as The Prey (1983) then Satan's Blade is very much one for you. Others may think that following last night's fourth time of watching for me that i may be in need of help.

[Demoncrat]

Hell Hath No Fury (1996, Fred Olen Ray)

WELL THEN

Erotic thriller
A human piece of teak gets frisky whilst away on the business trip. She seems to be clairvoyant or summat, as she is soon ensconsced in his domicile under spurious circumstances. By this time I was hooked. The acting is risible, it looks like a TVM and that ending
Ahem. So it was worth the money
I could easily send it to RLM tbh.

[Dave Boy]

Double Bill time..

s-l1600rrrr.jpg

SUMMER OF FEAR (1978)

Linda Blair finds her life turned upside down when her cousin Julia comes to live with her family after a fatal car crash. Julia soon becomes popular with everyone, especially with the men. When a series of bad luck comes to Linda, she suspects that Julia is involved in witchcraft but no one will believe her..

TV movie originally titled STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE. Directed by Wes Craven, the movie creates enough suspense to keep you watching throughout and I found it very enjoyable.

RUBY (1977)

Piper Laurie's Drive-In cinema is run by ex mobsters and is host to a series of supernatural murders by her gangster boyfriend who was murdered by the same mob..

Bit of a slow burner this one. The murders are okay but there is too much of Ruby remembering her past and has you looking at the clock.
Scenes similar to the Exorcist as Ruby's daughter is possessed are the highlight of the movie but overall it's just an okay movie.

[Frankie Teardrop]

HELP ME… I’M POSSESSED – Although I had only the most blurred memories of my Code Red DVD, I was thrilled when I heard this was coming out on blu-ray via AGFA, my hazy recollections failing to subdue a decade-old aftertaste of lurid nonsensicality and Lovecraftian pretension. HMIP more than lived up to expectations. A disjointed mishmash of cardboard castles in the desert, a red spaghetti Shoggoth (not officially, but near as dammit) and mild dungeon sleaze as lame as anything Andy Milligan could come up with, HMIP is like a poverty row forties mad scientist flick torn to confetti and made to whirl within the confines of the skankiest grindhouse, a bargain basement collage abstruse enough to allow you to forgive the lack of anything too full-on. Yet another weird anti-classic that makes this horror business worthwhile.

JAKOB’S WIFE – The Shudder-spawned ‘Jakob’s Wife’ stars Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden, names familiar to any fan of off-beat horror. Crampton is the downtrodden wife of oblivious pastor Fessenden, the pair’s stale marriage being upended when a bloodsucker comes to town. JW uses the vampire trope to explore a lot of gender and social power stuff, a fair enough idea which doesn’t necessarily come off too convincingly, instability of tone being the main problem for me. I liked the slow, downbeat and atmospheric first half far more than the splattery black comedy the film seems to go for in its final hour, and although in a less competently made effort this mismatch might’ve pulled me in, here it smacks too much of a lost opportunity. Still, ‘Jakob’s Wife’ is interesting and worth a watch.

EVIL SPAWN – No social conscience at work here, this is Fred Olen Ray-produced bilge from the mid-eighties. Any preconceptions you may have about it involving cheap T&A and a lame rubber monster are understandable and, in this case, totally correct. Bobbie Bresee is a past-it actress desperate to recapture the essence of her vitality; someone else plays her for a guinea-pig and plies her with an age-serum, the resulting monstrosity providing the reason to keep watching. ‘Evil Spawn’, with its weak nudity, threadbare sets and Dr Who-reject monster costumes, is a good laugh. Would anyone dare to make anything as brainless in this day and age?

ANNIHILATION – A second look at Alex Garland’s ‘Annihilation’, a film I remember enjoying a bit but feeling a little lukewarm about when I saw it four years ago. I genuinely can’t understand why; this viewing had me hooked and wowed and totally into what amounts to something not unlike a psychedelic retelling of Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ (not an original perception among critics and reviewers, I’m sure, and probably a deliberate nod on the part of Garland). For those in need of a recap, Natalie Portman is part of a military expedition into a zone where a mysterious ‘shimmer’ has appeared in the wake of a meteorite’s fall and seems to be mutating the weft and weave of the environment. There’s a strange, symmetrical relationship with Carpenter’s film that probably doesn’t bear scrutiny, but I thought I’d mention it; all female vs all male, revelation vs paranoia, transformation vs, ironically (or not), annihilation; in saying this, I haven’t read Vandermeer’s original novel so I can’t comment on the relationships between these sources. But yeah, the bottom line is that it’s an incredibly atmospheric, eerie, messed-up yet poignant work and, well, if you haven’t seen it then I recommend you do.

[nicholasrope]

Sakura Killers

Chuck Connors enlists 2 Americans to train in the art of the Ninja after Ninjas steal a top secret videotape. Watched this originally when I was younger and remember enjoying, the Action scenes aren't bad but the dialogue and acting isn't great.

Jackass Forever

More of the same really, it's one of those that if you like the others, you'll probably enjoy it. There is one gross out moment however but there are some funny ones as well. Hoping it's the swansong but they did introduce some other people.

Not really nostalgic for the 00's however Jackass is one of things I do and hearing Johnny Knoxville saying "Welcome to Jackass" and hearing the warning and reminder messages does give me smile.

Band Of The Hand

A group of juvenile offenders are sent to a Survival Retreat in the Florida Everglades under the watch of Steven Lang. Afterwards they head to Florida where they go after the local Drug Dealers. Not a bad effort at all, a little long. Remember the voice over guy on the Trailer saying "Band Of The Hand"

Kind of shocked that this one hasn't received a recent release. Seems perfect for Indicator.

Parental Guidance

Billy Crystal and Bette Midler are asked to look after their Grandchildren by Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott. However their methods don't mesh and hilarious mishaps ensue. A perfect role for Crystal in a very entertaining Movie.

Coach Carter

Samuel L. Jackson coaches a Inner City Basketball Team who is struggling with results and Academics. After he causes a lockout, he enrages the parents and School Board. Another fantastic Sports Film and Jackson is great with his one-liners.

The Wrestler

Mickey Rouke is amazing as a former top Wrestler who is struggling with working The Indies. An incredible Film which should have got more recognition, Awards wise.

Rumor has it that Rouke would have won Best Actor at the Oscars but his appearances at WWE hindered that.

[Dave Boy]

72803_0.jpg
WITNESS (1985)

Another movie I pulled out that I had not seen in ages.
A really great movie and I loved every minute of it.
The building of the barn sequence with the terrific score by Maurice Jarre is just amazing. I always loved that piece of music.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The American (2010)

Excellent slow burning thriller which echoes Italian crime, seventies style, starring George Clooney as an assassin holed up in an Italian village trying to avoid a Swedish hit squad, whilst waiting for one last job, where he falls in love with a local prostitute.

A gorgeously filmed piece with lovely cinematography. Clooney shows he can play dark and brooding rather than his more usual light and frothy and you have real feelings for him and his relationship. The bursts of action come as sucker punches to the head rather than full blown set pieces and the film seems all the more realistic for it. I've seen this a good four times now and it's become a proper favourite.

Highly recommended.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Violent Professionals aka Milano trema: la polizia vuole giustizia - Translated as Milan Trembles:The Police Want Justice (1973)

A classic Poliziotteschi in which disgraced cop Luc Merenda goes undercover deep inside Richard Conte's mob as a getaway driver so he can infiltrate and get revenge for the death of a close friend and colleague.

Merenda is on typically good form as is Conte in Sergio Martino's fast paced thriller. The title confuses as both undercover cop and mob thugs are as violent as each other as everyone from the police, villains, kids and pregnant women get wasted in a hail of bullets along the way.

What really stood out for me were the magnificent car chases. The direction and camera work is spot on, properly in and around the action. It's beautifully constructed, not messy cameras that shoot anything except the cars Paul Greengrass style, but classic Bullitt and French Connection brilliance.

Oh and i mustn't forget the soundtrack from Guido and Maurizio De Angelis. Groovy is certainly the best word to describe it.

Oozing with thrills and suspense, twists and turns, i really enjoyed The Violent Professionals.