Vince Vaughn is actually far better than I expected and his acting is not all out of place, nor is the character a caricature – it's just that those sequences felt a bit clichéd. If you do have time and any inclination to watch Hacksaw Ridge, I would do so at the cinema because of the sheer scale and AV bombardment of the battle sequences. I would just prepare yourself for the saccharine back story which is even more heavy-handed than Steven Spielberg used in Saving Private Ryan.

I'll probably give it a go when it hits a fiver on dvd. I do like modern war films. From Saving Private Ryan and Windtalkers to The Thin Red Line and Letters From Iwo Jima with prety much everything inbetween...including Pearl Harbor. :lol:

Fair enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsozpEE543w


Excellent, not going into the details of the film will just say what's knowing from the trailer, Renton returns after 20 years after betraying his friends and we find out what they have been up to all the time and what's happened to them. Captures the spirt of the original and updates it for modern society. Its a joy to see the gang again and it was laugh out loud funny in places. Look out for the shallow grave reference/Easter egg. 9/10

Its 1690 all the the Catholics are dead! ( you'll get it when you see it)

Red Hill (2010)


Excellent contemporary Australian western that utilizes the best elements from classic revenge westerns such as High Plains Drifter adding it's own revisionist touches to create the best example of a modern day western i've seen in a long time.

Brutal and eye catching in it's effectiveness, Red Hill is a simple tale of a young sheriff (Ryan Kwanten of True Blood) who takes a post in a small Victoria town in the grip of winter. He soon learns that a convicted killer has escaped from jail and is returning to Red Hill to wreak his revenge on those who put him away.

In truth it's nothing that hasn't been done before but director Patrick Hughes gives the film an almost poetic feel to it with it's slow build up that gradually allows suspense to seep through until the grizzled killer (an excellent Tom E Lewis) shows up and all hell breaks loose in the sleepy town. The setting took me by surprise. I didn't know it was an Australian production during the first few minutes and mistook the Victoria location for Alaska or British Columbia, so unlike a typical Australian western it is.

I really enjoyed this

Great little film Dem.

Certainly is. It was one i picked up (with slipcase) from Poundland with the horrors in early October.

I got the blu from CEX for something like £2.50 early last year.

Christine

Attachment 186349

Bought the Powerhouse blu the other day, it felt like a necessity, i'd read on here about a cut down supermarket sweep version and really wanted the Special edition which has apparently been shifting more units than expected.
Didn't want to miss out on this.:rockon:
It may not be Carpenters most thrilling film but there's something about this one i really enjoy.
I first saw this aged about 12 and i really connected to the outsider that can't fit in vibe and the way he turns himself into a cool badass after buying Christine. O.k watching it now he's very self centred and a bit of a prick but i can see from his point of view that he's obsessed by his first car and forms a symbiotic relationship with it, so much so that when others reject it, he feels wounded and rejects them.
And i think that's really what makes this film work,the relationship between the nerd and the car, and the effect it has on the other people in his life.
It may be a film about a possessed killing car (and on paper that shouldn't really work at all), but really it's all about relationships.
All the kids in this film do really well and performances seem natural, add to this the great 50's rock and roll/Carpenter synth pulsing score and some really good photography and you have a really entertaining film.
Always loved the scene where Christine first repairs herself and totally fell in love with the Plymouth Fury car when i first watched this.
That's the only downside of the film, the fact that you see so many beautiful antique cars trashed.:nono:
On top of that we have a few great scenes with Roberts Blossum from Deranged and the always entertaining Harry Dean Stanton, so how can you go wrong.
The blu looks spanking and comes with a load of extras. Commentary, mini docs, deleted scenes and trailers. :cool:
Still a great,entertaining watch that i always enjoy.
Recommended 8.5/10:pop2:
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Nice review nos42. I'm hoping tomorrow that the latest Indicator releases Ghosts of Mars and Vampires will be included in HMV's 2 for £25 deal and I'll pick Christine up with one of those two. Like you've said it feels like a necessity.

What Films Have You Seen Recently?
 

I watched La La Land yesterday, I'm not totally bowled over by it. I didn't dislike it at all, but I also didn't love it either. It's entertaining in its major set pieces but the part where the story unfolds is a bit too flat when help up against the dizzying heights of say, the planetarium scene where they are dancing on the stars.
I'm glad I watched it, it was a fun film, but it doesn't live up to all the hype and a record breaking number of nominations.

Hope you get the double you're after Harker, i got Christine in the 2 for £25 with Ken Russells Crimes of Passion.:woot:

I've heard similar sentiments from a couple of people and wonder if, in one respect, it is a victim of its own hype. If you went without any knowledge of the critical reception or industry awards and nominations do you think you would have a different opinion?

I sometimes watch films expecting too much and am disappointed, enjoying them much more when time has passed and my memory has faded a little. (The same applies when I watch something which has been critically mauled and am pleasantly surprised.)

I agree, and a lot of people are rightly comparing it Whiplash, and I have to say that Whiplash is the superior film in every way but didn't get near as much praise on it.

However, I'm looking forward to revisiting it (La La Land) 3-4 months down the line when it comes out on bluray and after the hype has died down a little. I may have enjoyed it a whole lot more if every media channel on the planet wasn't telling me how amazing it is. If anything thing though, it's legitimately got people who don't support cinema going to the movies and having a positive experience from it, so that's a good thing I guess! When I went to see Manchester By The Sea, a much better film in my opinion, the cinema was probably a quarter full, while La La Land was full.

Gods of Egypt (2016)

Having been to Egypt and having a little knowledge about the Gods and it's rich history i really thought i'd enjoy The Crow/Dark City director Alex Proyas' film. More than that, i wanted to enjoy it.

In fact at first i did enjoy it, however as the film, and more and more head in hands moments played out, i realised i was thinking how i could possibly get to the end of the two hour running time. Quite simply Gods of Egypt is a good idea - having the Gods live on Earth amid battles for the throne - but it's final product verges on the awful.

The main problem is everything is acted against a green screen. This works well with films such as 300 (2006) and Sin City (2005), two films that are of a much smaller scale than Gods of Egypt. This film attempts the near impossible with it's CGI and looks clunky and at times no better than 70's Doctor Who in it's realism. Certainly the Gods in animal form look impressive but cityscapes and crowd sequences are shoddy. It had a budget of $140m but it doesn't show.

Secondly the script and characterization are borderline embarrassing. Not once does Proyas let his characters sit down in a normal building (ie- not CGI) and interact, it's all so hectic, everything is so vital in pushing the film forward to the point that none of it is. The acting is unfortunately brought down to the level of everything else with everyone from Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Rush and Rufus Sewell unable to bring anything positive to the table. It was said at the time of release, the film should have used minority actors rather than white stars and a case can certainly be made for this, but even the likes of Idris Elba, Denzel Washington and Will Smith (Three of Hollywood's biggest draws) couldn't have done anything with this film, so abysmal it is.

If Gods of Egypt were a superhero film then it ranks alongside Green Lantern rather than Batman Returns.

The Evil – Gus Trikonis (1977)
 

The Evil – Gus Trikonis (1977)

Wonderfully ludicrous rip off of Legend of Hell House via The Haunting,from Producer extraordinaire Roger Corman.Richard Crenna and his wife Joanna Pettet are trying to refurbish an old mansion to be used as a rehab centre.So when Crenna assembles a team of people to help him re-build the mansion the chances of nothing UN-toward happening to this motley bunch of polyester wearing bunch of 1970's actors are fairly low.Its a pretty well worn premise,throw a load of people into a big house and have something strangely supernatural happening to them one at a time,until they are all dead or the audience have left the building. Well a supernatural force is stopping the films protagonists from leaving the building,they try throwing tables at the windows,but to no avail,even exploitation veteran Andrew Prine comes to no good even when he tries to saw his way out of the building the fool manages to saw straight into his hand DOH what a do-fuss.Even when one of the groups dog,gets possessed,and start running amuck,although when the Alsatian runs down the corridor I swear thy use the sound effect of a Tie-fighter as the dog chases someone down.AS the staff dwindle in numbers and Pettet keeps seeing a ghostly figure who looks remarkably like the ghosts you see in an episode in Scooby Doo,Crenna finally comes to the conclusion that all is not well,especially when he finds a crypt in the basement (always a big giveaway if your house has a bloody great entrance to hell in its basement that something has gone astray),and if having a dirty great big hole under your house was going to diminish its value,then im pretty sure that having a Victor Buono in your basement is not going to add any value what so ever.If ever you needed a reason to sit through a film till the very end ( Howard the Duck being a prime example,very cool monster at the end) then seeing Mr Buono dressed all in white and developing horns is priceless. It does kind of remind me of the ending of Legend of Hell House where Roddy McDowall,confronts Michael Gough,and luckily before Buono can talk any more nonsense he gets a crucifix stabbed into him.I really enjoyed The Evil,its nonsensical and to talky at times but there's a couple of interesting demises and the whole film is still a fun watch.

The Barn

Another attempt at replicating 80's VHS era trashy fun. Here a local legend of a Barn that if knocked on at All hallows eve releases flesh eating demons who seek out the people who knocked. Naturally some idiots (teenagers) kick things off one Halloween and must find a way of saving themselves.
This is one that'll probably be one to dig out at Halloween and for the most part it does its thing well. The acting is lousy in places and its not as good as beyond the gates which I felt really captured the style of something like an empire pictures feature. Its got some issues perhaps but I'd still say give it a chance if you get the opportunity.

Trainspotting

With T2 (no not the Arnie robot one) about to hit the cinema I'd thought I'd give this another go. Seeing as the book, a collection of Edinburgh set stories set around the late 70's and 80's is almost unadaptable, its admirable that the film manages to work as well as it does. Its nothing profound and being honest its actually pretty disposable in some respects but its so kinetic, witty and fun while actually addressing the grim realities of Heroin addiction that its still holds up today. Sitting here typing this in the grim future of 2017 it sort of makes me miss the 90's, and this is about as 90's as it gets and is probably as relevant to that point in time as the book is to the previous two decades.

Steve Jobs

More Danny Boyle. This one working as a companion piece of sorts to David Fincher's SOCIAL NETWORK, they share the same screenwriter in Aaorn Sorkin who manages to find inroads into potentially difficult material.
Here the action Focuses on several Apple presentations that punctuate the releases of products that are relevant to the companies history and uses this to track the Fortunes of Steve Jobs. Credit to Michael Fassbender who really manages to make Jobs somehow relateable given how horrid he is to the people in his life. Its not as good as Social network but much better than the Garbage fire that was the Ashton Kutcher take on Jobs. It Helps that the scripts great and Boyle is a decent director, hes just not Fincher.

Justice League Dark (2017)

*** out of *****

Nice review, Inspector.

I also enjoyed this one when I watched it as part of my trawl through Nightmare USA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSYmJur0Npw

Hairy men, Raquel Welch in that bikini, Ray harryhausen effects and cave people comically leaping to their deaths, what's not too like! Its surprising how much emotion is gotting just from a few grunts and eye movement. 7.7/10


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7sl9ni-Lk

One of the best sequels to the original horror of dracula , Dracula is resurrected this time when the local priest of the village he used to terrorise and a Monsignor of a nearby city goto exorcise the Draculas castle. Once resurrected Dracula takes offence to this and seeks revenge on the monsignor by going after his niece he is help by the cowardly priest. Its up to the Monsignor and her boyfriend to try to save her. 8/10

Now watching black magic.

The killer

The shortest way to sum this up is Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï as re-imagined by Sam Peckinpah. Chow yun-fat plays a hitman who accidentally blinds a club singer, he befriends her and becomes romantically involved. It all goes wrong when he's betrayed by the mob.
The Killer is possibly John Woos masterpiece, though I know some might argue Hard Boiled or Bullet in the head but the killer works brilliantly in mixing the almost sappy romanticism with the over the top, slow mo bullet fests that sold him to the west. Its sad that Hollywood tried to neuter him as he's still one of the great action directors and choreographs gun play in a way no one else has really mastered.

The final member.

A documentary on the worlds only penis museum. Surprisingly its located in Iceland not Amsterdam. The film documents the museums quest to get a human penis for its display. Weirdly there's competition. An elderly Icelandic adventurer and an American with a big wanger and a powerful sense of patriotism both vie to be the one with the first dick on display. The American candidate appears ever so slightly demented to the point hes actually considering getting it sliced off while hes still alive as his rival is 92 and likely to die soon. The film seems to chart this blokes descent into a type of mania as hes busy getting stars and stripes on the old chap and designing costumes.

xxx: The return of Xander Cage.

I was debating about whether I should go to see this. However the VUE is now £4.99 to see any film and I want to reward that. I also remember the days when the old Apollo was £3 so not much cheaper and this was 20 years ago. Back in the day it was a case of going to see any old nonsense so It was good to sit back with low expectations and see if it was terrible.
Actually its not bad. It has Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa in it for starters. Plus it refuses to take itself seriously and actively seeks out insane nonsense to liven things up including lesbian snipers, Donnie yen dual wielding pistols in Zero g and motorbikes that turn into jet skis. Sure extreme sports became passe about a decade back but the film literally does not care. Its just there to have action as much as possible and try to look good doing it. Its an objectively terrible film in so many ways but I found it a lot of fun.

About how I felt about XXX return of xander Cage,really harkens back to the day of those OTT action movies of the 90s, just switch your brain off and enjoy the ride. But then again I enjoy most of vin diesels movies.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

The biographical musical story of George M Cohan a theatre producer who went on to become known as The Man Who Owned Broadway in the early part of the 20th century.

An entertaining extravaganza starring James Cagney as Cohan in what is ultimately an American propaganda piece utilizing the songs Cohan wrote during the First World War as a call to arms in World War 2. Despite this Cohan's songs such as Yankee Doodle Boy and Over There are stirring stuff even now.

Let that not take anything away from a superb performance from Cagney, who, if you only know him as a gangster, proves he could dance every bit as good as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.

Watch Dusk Till Dawn 2 tonight, was a bit apprehensive given the sequel's not so good reputations but thought it was quite fun for what it was.

6/10 for me.

I too like it, Buboven. I also like the third film The Hangman's Daughter. A decent direct to video prequel. It's worth a watch if you haven't seen it.

I did start watching it and was quite enjoying it , so might watch it properly tomorrow :nod:

Good stuff. It's one of the best western style vampire films i can recall.

Indeed, I was quite blown away by the quite visually striking opening sequence.

It's a few years since i watched Hangman's Daughter so it needs a rewatch i think. I watched Texas Blood Money again last year and found it really enjoyable in a Rio Bravo sort of way.

Have you seen Devil's Den? It's a From Dusk till Dawn style film starring Kelly Hu and Ken Foree.

It has an average score on IMDB but i rather like it.

Devil's Den (2006) - IMDb

One of the 'reviews' on Amazon for La La Land stated how they'd wasted £3.50 to see it at their local cinema and I had to wonder where on earth they live to get to see a brand new film for that cheap. In Liverpool the new release films are £12.00 a ticket at the Odeon... That's before you do any faff like Premier Seats, IMAX or 3D, that is just a regular normal seat. £4.99 is great value :D When I was a teenager I used to go to an old cinema that played films just after their original run, tickets were only £1.00 I saw so much stuff, I went every single Saturday afternoon from Teen-Wolf to Back to the Future 2 :pop2:

Rewatched.....

Joy Division (2007, Grant Gee)
After reading Hooky's book Unknown Pleasures, I felt this needed a revisit. Sobering, if slightly precious...unlike

24 Hour Party People (2002, Micheal Winterbottom)
Which is a laugh, but not exactly factually "correct". Though Considine's take on Rob Gretton is a hoot...


Me FWWM blu came so that will be going on soon.

AUDITION – Such a great film, still as wince inducing as ever. Will need no introduction, but just in case it does, a lonely studio executive hits on a sleazy way of meeting the perfect partner and exploits his role in the movie business to host a fake audition. He's beguiled by a charming lady who happens to have a dark past. 'Audition' plays out like a kind of alienated romance for its first hour, and, even before the film blossoms into full on horror, it feels like there's a shadow lurking behind everything. When it finally pops, well, its the crazy torture driven delirium everyone says it is. Very affecting, a modern day classic. Well done Mr TM!

THE ORPHAN – I'd forgotten about this little number from 2009 or thereabouts. It's a good film, surprisingly plush and stacked with nice performances, whereas I was expecting something a bit more 'B'. 'The Orphan' is pretty much classic 'Bad Seed' territory, with a ferocious little mite playing evil and quite often fatal games with her adopted family. Maybe she looks like butter wouldn't melt, but make no mistake, this orphan is a total arsehole, as attested to by the corpses of the good citizens she leaves in her wake and the film's eerie climax with its creeped out undercurrent. Recommended.

DREAM HOME – Interesting latter day HK horror thriller which distinguishes itself by blaming the Hong Kong property market for the innards it spills. We're in the 'economy and social factors push psycho over the edge' genre bracket, which is a bit underpopulated. Who else lives there? 'Driller Killer'? 'K Shop'? Anyway, it makes a nice change from someone getting humiliated on St Swithin's day and then butchering a load of college students twenty years later. So 'Dream Home' follows the plight of a woman who's so obsessed with getting her foot on the property ladder she's prepared to (wait for it) kill to make that happen. And kill she does, in a pretty gory fashion. Maybe it doesn't entirely gel, but the combination of tacked-on social realist drama and excessive bloodletting is pretty attractive. Give it a go, definitely.

JESSABELLE – Latter day horror set in New Orleans, where wheelchair bound Sarah Snook discovers the secret of her upbringing and finds that her life and destiny are intertwined with a local murder. 'Jessabelle' doesn't break any new ground or blaze any trails necessarily, but it's well made and entertaining, and carries some interesting themes along with strong performances. The first hour or so, when Snook discovers old video tapes from her mother in the decrepit ancestral home, is quite atmospheric, and the gradual unfolding of the mystery surrounding her childhood is done well. Doesn't really top 'Skeleton Key' in the New Orleans voodoo / supernatural stakes, but quite enjoyable for all that.

LIGHTS OUT – About a family's attempts to deal with their violent spiritual guest, a being which appears in darkness and recoils from light. We get a back story which involves a young kid with a skin condition who died at a research institute back in the day, now after some revenge from beyond the grave etc etc. 'Lighs Out' is pretty much the descendent of the recentish tendency towards jump-scares at the multiplex. It's not up there with 'The Conjuring', 'Insidious' etc in terms of budget and studio muscle, but it kind of cops the same moves. I do get tired of that whole 'sudden movement accompanied by loud noise' approach, it's more of a challenge to lay down good atmosphere (failing that, I'll take graphic dismemberment). That said, 'Lights Out's attempts to startle are pretty well done, so despite the faint whiff of retread, it's a diverting enough concoction.

If you are a fan of Joy Division, the Ian Curtis biopic 'Control' is well worth watching

War on Everyone (2016)

I've read some hate from viewers, but I really enjoyed this.

***1/2 out of *****


Now You See Me (2013)

*** out of *****

Certainly is. It's a terrific film – Sam Riley is superb as Ian Curtis.

I watched GHOSTS OF MARS yesterday-better than I remembered.

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS-A refreshing take on the battered to death zombie film,the central performance from the young girl is terrific.
Cat lovers beware......

REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST-RARO have done a cracking job with this.
Not in the same league as Witchfinder or The Sorcerers,there is early indications of Reeve's superb talent,especially in the opening shots of the bleak countryside.Almost as if a warm up excercise for the later Price classic.

Apparently Price said to Reeves...'Do you know how many films I've made young man? Ninety four. How many have you made?'

To which Reeves replied....

'Three good ones.....!' :lol:

T2: Trainspotting

Mark Renton returns to an Edinburgh transforming into somewhere unfamiliar as the past is slowly being torn down in the name of Gentrification. As he reunites with sick boy and spud the past begins to creep back and haunts him as he slips back into old habits.
Initially the film threw me a little as it lacked the pace and forward momentum of the first movie. Slowly it dawned on me that the queasy sense of nostalgia for places and people long gone is intentional and the film is drawing me into the head space of the central characters. Certainly as a 37 year old who remembers the film coming out the first time around I felt a strange connection to the film that I suspect 20 year old's who might connect with the original probably would not. As the film gradually became a tale of escaping addiction through creativity it somehow manages to be about the psychological place that Irvine welsh himself must have been in when he initially wrote the book. I was especially pleased they included Trainspotting at leith central station at a place in the film that brought some genuine pathos and humanity to Begbie.
Older geezers like me who have been around a bit will find a lot here in a film where the same creative team are older wiser and probably more talented but the younger audience might need to wait 20 years. The soundtrack is superb and it has some of the best composed shots I've seen in a film for a while.

In A Valley of Violence. Ethan Hawke is a loner, bar his loyal dog, who drifts into a rundown little town in the Old West where a jackass picks a fight with him for no apparent reason, only to come off the worse for it. The jackass turns out to be the son of the town Marshal (John Travolta) who sends him on his way with no real hard feelings. But said jackass just can't let it be, and together with his mates ambush Hawke, kill his dog and leave him for dead. As anyone who's seen John Wick will attest, bad idea. Soon Hawke is on his way back to town, and he's not leaving until everyone involved is dead - including the Marshal if he gets in his way... Karen Gillan co-stars in this largely unremarkable but still pretty watchable and entertaining enough Western revenge thriller.

Caddyshack (1980)

**** out of *****


The Pit (1981)

*** out of *****

I saw Caddyshack for the first time last year...and hated it. I think it must be an 80's thing in that if i'd seen it back then i'd probably enjoy it now.