Did you watch it, MTDS? What did you think?

Any film with a man firing chickens from his fingers has to be good!

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Kicks off strong with a cool setting and delightful intrigues but unfortunately slowly looses it's way,only to end in a very predictable finale.
A shame as this could have been so much better,the action sequences and fights are certainly very well choreographed and brutal.

Anthony Wong is unfortunately wasted here but the few moments he's on screen are a delight.

Just finished watching Gone Girl. Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne a man suspected of murder when his wife suddenly disappears.
David Fincher directs this muddled pile of arse and frankly it's his worst film by a long way. The story was ok, quite twisty turny and difficult to go into without spoiling but it was so slow and meandering. Could have been done in half the time and been a better film for it.

Wild Card (2015)

If ever a film should be subtitled a day in the life of the Stath then this is it. There's no straightforward bad guys piss off the Stath plot in this Simon West thriller. Instead he plays a body guard in Vegas who goes from job to job to fuel his gambling addiction.

Frequently amusing thanks to William Goldman's script, the film is more dialogue heavy than most but the three violent set pieces courtesy of legendary Hong Kong stunt arranger Cory Yuen are hard hitting and extremely brutal.

Videodrome.

Too much has been written about this film over the years for me to add anything new to the debate however having not seen it in a very long time, I was surprised at how little sexualized violence is actually on display. I pondered on this as I quietly refolded my tissues back into the box.

My other thought was, so this what it is like to view the world through Frankie Teardrop's eyes.

I thought it was brilliant when I saw it at the cinema, and that opinion was reaffirmed when I watched it at home a month or so ago.

Have you read the book? I read it about a week before going to the cinema and I didn't think it would translate very well, so was extremely surprised at how good the screenplay is and, with David Fincher's exquisite visuals, I didn't think the film felt anywhere near as long as the running time suggested.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE – I recently wrote on this very forum about the impossibility of adapting Lovecraft for the silver screen. And if no-one can adapt H P Lovecraft, I'm pretty sure no-one can remake 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. Or can they? This relatively recent (2003, I think) effort didn't leave too bad a taste in the mouth, and again when watching I had to abide by my self imposed dictum of “it's a movie in its own right, not an imitation beholden to its parent's expectations”. If only groovy sixties and seventies child rearing practices could be applied to genre fan's viewing habits more widely. Anyway, TCM refurb does quite a few things right. I wasn't particularly convinced by the attempt to evoke period seventies, but the film does have a sweaty, flea bitten atmosphere. As if to 'make up' for the original's lack of explicit physical violence, there's a lot more gore. Not mountains of entrails, but, well, a bit. Little throwaways like Leatherface removing his mask – for some reason I found that strangely haunting. And once we're inside that slaughterhouse, the oppressive, suffocating stench of the mangled dead is with us. If I'm going to make comparisons, what this competent, entertaining film just doesn't have is the feverish hysteria of the original TCM, the quality that makes the latter film so unique to this day.

FRIDAY THE 13TH – On to F13, another sacred cow dissected, repackaged and resold. I say 'sacred cow', but is the original F13 really all that good? I guess that's the stuff of long running forum debates, but if you want my two penneth, I've never really rated it – I've always seen it as a mildly diverting exemplar of a standard formula, not a trailblazer or a groundbreaker or an interesting mutation, for that matter. Accepting that version of things, F13: The Remake is in pretty good company with its forebear. Apart from, it's not really a remake, more a remix-and-updating of various franchise elements – since when did Jason wear his infamous hockey mask in part 1? Since when was he really ever IN part 1 (apart from during THAT BIT). Whatever, this new F13 whisks by in a comfortable haze of nubile shagging and occasional blood letting as the latest gang of annoying post late-teen campers find out the hard way that sex and violence are the driving forces of commercial American cinema. I don't really have much bad to say of it, as my expectations were basement level in the first place. The only twinge of disappointment that registered was when, out of the blue, a scene occurred where some guy's vintage porno mag spread was juxtaposed with a stuffed bear whose face had rotted away to a bony stump and a whole other movie seemed to come gatecrashing in for a few weird seconds. If only it had been directed by MTDS!

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET - Finishing off this trio of rejigs is 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'. Whilst I do like the original, I'm not overly smitten, and when I set out to see this one during its UK cinema release, my expectations were safely tempered by slight indifference and a sense of resignation. I was also pissed out of my head, and promptly fell asleep. I woke in the dark of the auditorium, the usher already at my side, brushing my cheek with fingers cold and sharp as... OHMYGOD! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! Then I woke up for real and narrowly avoided pissing myself. Anyway, watched it again last night on Amazon Whatever It's Called, hoping I could give it a second chance. No booze this time, just an open mind and a desire for a glimmer of entertainment. Wow, it WAS rubbish after all. I'm not surprised that this one really brings out the hate in fans. Every horror element seemed plastic and half baked, best exemplified by an early scene where beads of water run backwards up a glass (“folks, I need you to imagine that we're in a dream here”), followed by an absolutely garbage Kruger effect bursting out of a wall going “Boo!” 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' plays like a horror-lite CGI version of 'Dawson's Creek' and is pure bollocks. I wouldn't piss on this one's grave (now, THAT was a remake which kind of made sense. 'I Spit On Your Grave', that is.).

No Nos i haven't read the book. Can't say i didn't enjoy the film completely either. Just that it felt a mess. And quite the opposite to you it felt every bit its running time and then some. And then didn't even have a proper ending. The tone was quite uneven too with some bits seeming quite silly and corny (anything with Doogie Howser in).

I'm not sure if I've even seen the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street reboots/remake/reimaginings and, if I have, I can't remember a single thing about them.

I think watching them and trying to take them on their own merits (or lack thereof) without a passing thought to be original is a momentous, and worthy, task, and something I'll try and do either before I resume university or at some point in the winter when the evenings are dark.
I think I understand what you mean. However, because the film is told from the perspective of two different people, switching from one to the other halfway through, the tone is bound to be uneven, emphasising the point that you really don't know who you can trust – are either of them really telling the truth about what happened? – and I felt the ending was appropriate to the actions (and inactions) of the two principles.

Actually, I've just realised I did see the Friday the 13th film because, if memory serves, it involves one of the characters being taken (obviously) to a cabin in the woods to detox from her heroin addiction. Again, if memory serves, I remember being bored and annoyed by the faux-scuzzy nature, seemingly trying to recreate the genuine low-budget look and feel of Sam Raimi's original.

Erm, you mean 'Evil Dead'? I was going to give that one another go as part of my remakes marathon, but frankly felt utterly quashed by 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'.

These remakes are confusing, I thought the F13 remake felt more like the director's remake of TCM than the original F13!

Oh i wouldn't go there. I loathed Evil Dead. Having said that perhaps you should as i preferred the Nightmare remake to any of the original series barring New Nightmare which i can't remember a thing about.

I thought TCM was easily the best of the remakes. Although i do also like The Hills Have Eyes, House of Wax, House on Haunted Hill and My Bloody Valentine.

The Devils (1971)

It's very easy to say i can add nothing new in what i say about a film as discussed and analyzed as Ken Russell's infamous 1971 film The Devils.

But you know i do have something to add -

It co-stars George Roper (Brian Murphy) as a mad physician. That's really all anyone needs to know to make The Devils required viewing.

Horns.

So, so fantasy/black comedy that struggles with the shift in tones between the two leaving the film very uneven. Daniel Radcliffe, is however very good throughout and makes the film very watchable.

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Watched this at 7 am because I couldn't sleep...so-so docu on Eugene Roddenberry's exploration of his father's life/philosophies (and of course Star Trek).

Seems Gene's son was almost completely oblivious of the whole phenomenon and a bit estranged from his father...after his death it seems he gradually had a change of heart and wanted to get to know more about him.

1966: Part 3

Godzilla vs The Sea Monster - Hammer were doing it with Harryhausen's 'Stop Animation' (One Million Years B.C), while Toho were still using the tried and trusted 'Man in a rubber suit'. Featuring Mothra also, this picture pits Godzilla against a giant lobster called Ebirah. It has some charm to it although the comedy moments with the two titular monsters throwing boulders back and forth at each other has been used before in the franchise.

Ostre sledované vlaky (Closely Watched Trains) - Czechoslovakian 'New Wave'. A coming of age tale that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Picture (1967). Actually quite good, better than 1965's 'Obchod na korze (The Shop On Main Street)'.

The Brides of Fu Manchu - A couple of Christopher Lee movies next. In this one the oriental villian returns with a superweapon that he aims to use to destroy an important meeting. Its all so very 'Hammer-ish', not bad...if you can look past its flaws.

Dracula Prince of Darkness - The Count returns in this classic sequel to 1958's 'Dracula' however no Van Helsing...unless you 'count' (see what I did there?), the prologue.

Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf - This is one of those pictures that is undoubtedly a classic and well deserved of all the awards it got...However for me this was just plain dull. The acting and dialogue is first rate I'll admit but its not a subject matter that that interests me. Its typical of the sort of film done in the 50's and 60's especially in the U.S. British cinema would call them 'kitchen sink' dramas and have Albert Finney reaching for a dirty glass from the sink but the American versions would have Liz Taylor reaching for a clean glass from the glass cabinet! Just too 'clean' and not enough grit!

A Man for all Seasons - Oscar and BAFTA winner. Historical drama about Thomas More. Has a whole host of British Stars including Yootha Joyce in a small role.

A Bullet for the General - Spaghetti western (?) set in the early part of the last century. Not too bad and stars Gian Maria Volonté who went up against Clint Eastwood in the two 'Dollars' movies.

Voyna i Mir - I was not looking forward to seeing this Russian subtitled 6h 43m epic from Sergei Bondarchuk. However it wasn't as much as a borefest as I feared it would be. Told in four parts this Russian 'War and Peace' does have some spectacular scenes, particulary the battles especially in the first and fourth parts. Although IMDB puts the release year as 1966 the four parts were released in the USSR over 66 and 67. In 1968 it went on to win the Academy award for best Foreign Picture.

Tarzan and the Valley of Gold - Tarzan returned after three years away but in the guise of Mike Henry who had replaced Jock Mahoney now considered to old to continue in the role in what Sy Weintraub had planned for the franchise. Weintraub wanted to transfer the jungle lord from the cinematic big screen to the much smaller one of TV. But whilst plans for the series were in development a few more cinema outings lay ahead. This one attempts to make Tarzan a more 'hipper' character, after a typical 60's flashy credit sequence we see Tarzan dressed in a suit arriving at a south American airport where he is picked by a chauffer who turns out to be a bad guy, (shades of James Bond in Dr No).

The Good the Bad and the Ugly - Leone's classic is right up there with the best Spaghetti westerns in cinema history. Morricone's score only adds to the film and is in itself iconic. "Blondie...you know what you are? Your a son of a ........"

The Bible: In The Beginning - The first part of a planned trilogy covering the entire old testament but the second and third parts were never made. An American / Italian production with a host stars including Richard Harris, Stephen Boyd, John Huston and George C Scott. Huston was also the director and elected to play the role of Noah after Alec Guiness became unavailable and Charlie Chaplin (!) turned it down. Its a bit overlong and although the earlier parts were ok I found myself getting bored when Scott's Abraham came along.

Bullet for the General is part of the spaghetti western subgenre called revolutionary westerns. ;)

Blimey, it sounds like mine and Inspector Sticky Vicky Ron Rons' ideal date film!

Show it to the boy MTDS and tell him if he keeps up the training, he too will be able to master the deadly art of chicken chucking. :nod::)

I do, and still have no recollection of the Friday the 13th remake. I've had a look on IMDb and obviously hated it because I voted 1/10!

There must be something about Marcus Nispel because I also hated The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Pathfinder – all films with horrible visuals, soundtracks and without a clue what the word 'nuance' means. I was astonished to find out Daniel Pearl, who was the cinematographer on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (original) was the DP on both the Friday the 13th and TCM remakes, both over reliant on visual than practical effects.

The Evil Dead remake was also abysmal (and I thought the remake of The Hitcher was pointless), but not as bad as anything helmed by Nispel. With the probable exception of The Purge films, the Platinum Dunes production company is one of the worst things to ever happen to the film industry.

Now, I had a vague recollection of there being a thread to identify films that you may have half a recollection of but I couldn't find it so I'm plonking this plea here as this is a heavily used thread. Obviously I haven't seen this film recently as I can't remember it.

I don't remember much and I doubt it will ring any direct bells with anyone but I'm just hoping someone might know.

I'm pretty sure I watched it on Channel 4, mid to late 90s, late night. I don't think it was horror but it may have been sexy.

I don't even know if it was English language or where it was set other than Europe. Girl, boarding dance school. Not Suspiria, Not Étoile.

I really know this isn't much to go by at all, I don't think my description would do it but if anyone knows what was shown late night on Channel 4 (or BBC 2) throughout the 90s I might just get somewhere.

La residencia?

What Films Have You Seen Recently?
 

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Better than the first, while not quite as good as quatermass and the pit it's still very enjoyable. Watch out for Sid James as a newspaper reporter. 8.5/10

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Really enjoyed this one and some of the special effects are very gruesome for its age. Watch out for a young baby faced Kenneth Cope in an early role 8.5/10

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Enjoyable but not a patch on the other movies, and probably the point when the movies started to go down hill a little6.5/10

If not, it could be 13 Frightened Girls!, which sounds brilliant and has a great title!

No, unfortunately not (although I have watched that this year!)

I'm thinking it was 80s. It could have been a European Fame, with penis.

No but yes it does, I can't believe I haven't seen it. I love William Castle. Back in my old public library days this young lad used to come in and talk to me for hours about William Castle films, he must have been only been about 10.

I really want to see it as it sounds really interesting.

Can you remember anything else about the film?

Just the one?

A European Fame, with penis? :lol:
It's not horror or thriller then?

I doubt it's this but Aenigma. Aenigma (1987) - IMDb

Was also thinking Aenigma...but it's horror... ;)

It depends on the penis.

I fear that if I convince myself there was more than one penis involved I'll be sorely disappointed when I find out what the film is and that there is only the lone penis involved, well, not sorely.

Therefore I'm not committing to multi-peni.

If there was a penis in it I may have been so focussed on that to not notice the horror.

oooh, I don't know, just skipping through it. I don't think it is.

Two random things I remember is that there was a bit of daylight and a scene where they are looking out from like a block building, not a high rise just an old style four/five storey type place.

I'd go for Murderrock but can't remember any penis? ;)

I was thinking Murder Rock too. :nod:

Blood Wedding? Spanish film from '81? However I am unsure of the cock quota.