What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Karkoff is Here!

Looks like Mr.Barlow designed the Terror in the Wax Museum poster.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Karkoff is Here!

Looks like Mr.Barlow designed the Terror in the Wax Museum poster.

I'm never gonna live that down

[Mojo]

LOST HEARTS ( 1973 )

A young orphan goes to live with his much older, eccentric cousin and discovers that other children who have stayed there have disappeared, never to be seen again. However, he soon starts to be haunted by a boy and girl who previously stayed there.
I remember watching this as a kid and it scared the crap out of me! All these years later, I still think the hurdy gurdy playing kids are extremely creepy and the whole story is definitely one of the best of the BBC’s Ghost Stories For Christmas.
If you already have this on dvd, I strongly recommend you get the new Blu Ray set from the BFI - the upgrade in quality is pretty amazing. It’s never looked as good as this.

[MrBarlow]

Colombiana. 2011.

When a young girl witnesses her parents being killed by a drug cartel, she grows up to be a assassin and goes after those responsible.

Something that certainly holds your attention with Zoe Saldana as the young female looking for revenge and does it with some good style with the F.B.I on her trail. Written by duo Robert Mark Keman and Luc Besson you know to expect a good film with a female that can take a punch and knows how to dish it out. One certainly worth watching again.

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[MrBarlow]

The Foreigner. 2017.

After his daughter is killed in a bombing, Quan tries to find out who is responsible from police and Ireland's deputy Prime Minister.

Jackie Chan stars as the broken chinaman but don't expect him to be busting a lot of moves like his previous films with comedy, this is part action with his back story as a ex special forces soldier who can make some good bombs and forest traps. Pierce Brosnan plays the deputy prime minister and is a ex IRA member who wants answers and identity of the bombers. After the first 5 minutes into the film we are thrown into the main plot and from there on in everything goes great, nothing goes slow or fast with the pace with some political satire, betrayal and good acting.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Hannibal (2001)

A sequel to the classic serial killer film The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in which Anthony Hopkins reprises his role as Hannibal Lecter.

Based on the book by Thomas Harris, Hannibal was always going to struggle to compete with a film that was a worldwide phenomenon and really made Anthony Hopkins and Lecter household names. I think director Ridley Scott knew this, decided he couldn't compete so basically upped everything from gore and scale to all round general excess.

There are some great set pieces here, in particular the death of Giancarlo Giannini's policeman at Florence's famed Palazzo Vecchio and the demise of Ray Liotta's less than charming Justice Dept official. However unlike the original Silence of the Lambs there's very little in the way of suspense which is a shame as that film was an exercise in sustained terror throughout.

Lecter himself became an anti-hero in Silence and is one even more so here. Hopkins is excellent and clearly relishing Lecter being free to do as he wishes. From saving Clarice Starling (A very good Julianne Moore) from death to righting old wrongs in the form of the disfigured Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) a child molester out for revenge on Lecter who disfigured him by feeding his face to his dogs as seen in flashback.

Daft though it may be at times, i always enjoy watching Hannibal. It always entertains and is never boring, however it does differ quite dramatically from the novel but that's a discussion for elsewhere.

[Dave Boy]

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RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER (1975)

My favorite of the series. I had not seen this in a long time and sat through the whole movie with a smile on my face. So many funny scenes one after the other. The scene in the steam room with the slipery floor is the highlight for me, and makes me laugh out loud and it takes a lot to do that when I watch a movie.

[MrBarlow]

Toy Story. 1995.

A toy cowboy named Woody is his owner's Andy favourite toy, but when Andy gets a spaceman toy jealous erupts from Woody.

One of the few computer animated films I actually enjoyed watching with my nephew and neice when they were younger and today i still find this funny everytime I watch it. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen do a great job providing the voices of Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

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[MrBarlow]

Toy Story 2. 1999.

When Woody is kidnapped by a greedy toy store owner, the other toys try to rescue him.

The actors from the first return with a new characters Al voiced by Wayne Knight as the big chicken guy who owns the Al's Toy Barn and plan on selling Woody and his round up gang to a museum in Tokyo with The Prospector voiced by Kelsey Grammar and Jessie voiced by Joan Cusack. This didn't have much laugh out moments but can give out a small snigger or two. This is a bit better than the previous film and has its own comical outtakes that make up for the lack of laughs in the film.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Diamonds are Forever (1971)

One of the weakest Bond films i acknowledge, yet although i tend to zone out a bit during the formulaic oil rig finale, it's still a film i for the most part enjoy.

Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint are unusual and memorable villains / henchmen and although not the most formidable opponents in a fist fight with Bond are excellent merciless killers even if a touch camp.

The Las Vegas setting for the middle third of the film i always enjoy looking at (Especially in HD). Having myself been to Vegas three times it's interesting to see it developing into what it is now. The car chase around the early Fremont Street casinos such as the Golden Nugget is well done even if they obviously couldn't close the roads - look on the sidewalks as crowds gather to watch the action.

Meanwhile following a silly opening pre-credits sequence, although not half as silly as For Your Eyes Only ten years later, the film settles down into an intriguing story as Bond attempts to infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring. There's no super villain threatening to destroy the world (That comes in the third act) it's simply an engrossing attempt to stop a smuggling operation.

Sean Connery's return to the series following the perceived miss fire of George Lazenby in previous film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) sadly doesn't really work. Although he has the screen presence that Lazenby possibly lacked, Connery, for me at least, pretty much goes through the motions here, and although still hugely watchable isn't the same dynamic Connery Bond as his earlier outings.

Diamonds are Forever is a film i've returned to many times across the decades, be it on tv, video, dvd and now Blu-ray so despite it's flaws it clearly has that timeless longevity and rewatch value that so many of todays big budget studio films appear to lack.