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  #16681  
Old 14th October 2012, 11:03 AM
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I watched my DVD of the Devils Business last night after I returned home from Taken 2, and while it was one of my favourite films of last year I must say that the intimacy of watching it at home brings something extra to the experience. Highly recommended!
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  #16682  
Old 14th October 2012, 12:06 PM
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last few films watched...

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING
Good balance of comedy and drama let down by not concentrating on the one story that should have been more prominent in the film, if you can stomach Cameron Diaz and Elizabeth Banks, it's worth a look.

WHITE LIGHTNING
Burt Reynolds takes on Ned Beatty's corrupt sheriff in this pretty cool 70s action film full of car chases and gun fights. Great soundtrack too.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT
A lot lighter than White Lightning and a lot of fun, Burt Reynolds plays the bandit and the film is full of dry whit, good car chases and man that TransAm is a sweet car.

DOG SOLDIERS
Really good Werewolf flick with a very british sense of humour, some brilliant gore scenes and some great directing, never tire of this flick and love the score too.

TAKEN 2
Olivier Megaton brings all the trappings that made Columbiana and Transporter 3 crap to Taken 2, Neeson is good as usual but the film feels more like a parody of the first film. Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen have written a very lazy run of the mill action film and should be ashamed of themselves. The characters do epically dumb things and the film just comes across as stupid. Nothing compared to the first film.

AVP: ALIENS VS PREDATOR
I actually really like this film, it's fun, exciting and links with the Alien and predator franchises well. I found it alot more entertaining than Prometheus, it's just straight up sci-fi horror for me and very enjoyable.

SAINTS & SOLDIERS: AIRBORNE CREED
A beautifully shot WW2 drama from the director of the brilliant Saints And Soldiers. Is a bit confusing with Corbin Allred playing a different character in this compared to the first film, but a brilliant achievement. Not as good as the first but certainly one of the best indie war movies you're probably ever going to see.

THE DICTATOR
After truly hating Borat and Bruno, i was apprehensive about this film, but my expectations were smashed, This one of the funniest films i've seen in a very long time.

BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT
Ridley Scott's Cyberpunk masterpiece is a massive achievement in production design and has a very dreamlike quality. Some wonderful performances from all of the cast especially Rutger Hauer and Harrison Ford.
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  #16683  
Old 14th October 2012, 12:14 PM
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Last night I watched the BD of Dracula(1931), even though I had planned on saving the set til Halloween. It looked and sounded fantastic, really glad I forked out for the set now. Going to watch Frankenstein later tonight I think
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  #16684  
Old 14th October 2012, 12:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromonkey View Post
TAKEN 2
Olivier Megaton brings all the trappings that made Columbiana and Transporter 3 crap to Taken 2, Neeson is good as usual but the film feels more like a parody of the first film. Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen have written a very lazy run of the mill action film and should be ashamed of themselves. The characters do epically dumb things and the film just comes across as stupid. Nothing compared to the first film.
I saw that at the cinema this week and couldn't believe how poor it was, rather than building on the first film, it was just a predictable, dull and by-the-numbers action movie, with nothing in the way of suspense or excitement. I noticed one scene where it had been adapted/modified for a lower certificate, as Bryan Mills (I think) throws someone so their neck breaks over a pipe and there is absolutely no sound, whether should be a crunch/crack.

Anyway, with a director called Olivier Megatron, what should you realistically expect?!

Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromonkey View Post
BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT
Ridley Scott's Cyberpunk masterpiece is a massive achievement in production design and has a very dreamlike quality. Some wonderful performances from all of the cast especially Rutger Hauer and Harrison Ford.
I currently have the poster on my wall and have been meaning to watch this again for weeks, so I'll have to get the disc and put it somewhere so, when I'm looking for something to watch, it catches my eye and goes in my PS3. Actually, maybe I'll remember and watch it this evening.
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  #16685  
Old 14th October 2012, 12:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rik View Post
Last night I watched the BD of Dracula(1931), even though I had planned on saving the set til Halloween. It looked and sounded fantastic, really glad I forked out for the set now. Going to watch Frankenstein later tonight I think
I've only seen those two from the set so far and will probably go through all the films before watching the Spanish version of Dracula and then listening to all the commentaries again (I listened to them years ago when I first bought the Legacy Collection DVD sets).

The AV quality is astonishingly good and I couldn't believe how 'recent' the new restored HD encoding makes the films look and sound.
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  #16686  
Old 14th October 2012, 12:39 PM
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John Dies at the End

Another London Film Festival film, this time the midnight matinee (or 11.15pm to be precise) screening of John Dies at the End from director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm/ Bubba Ho-Tep). For those who don't know it, the story is a comedy horror revolving around two slacker types turned ghostbusters who start seeing creatures after injesting a curious drug known as "Soy Sauce".

Enjoyed it, but I'd gone in with diminished expectations. I'm a HUGE fan of the book and figured there's no way they would be able to cram the book's content in, especially with a limited budget. But although there's huge chunks of the book missing, this is still a relatively entertaining stab; the clunky stop-motion and CGI common to Coscarelli's films adding a certain charm, and the leads are likable enough. I'm certainly interested to see it again now my initial curiosity has been sated, and can imagine it becoming a minor cult hit.

A nice surprise was Coscarelli showing up to introduce the film and sticking round to chat to fans afterwards. In a brief Q&A, he was asked if he'd be filming the book's sequel, This Book is full of Spiders, to which he said it completely depends on how well John Dies performs. I can't see it happening myself, especially with the trouble of getting Bubba Nosferatu off the ground - which he also talked about, with initial plans to cast Paul Giamatti (who is in John Dies) opposite Bruce Campbell (who pulled out).

A fun film, but read the book first. It's excellent!




Last edited by Delirium; 14th October 2012 at 02:00 PM.
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  #16687  
Old 14th October 2012, 01:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs View Post
I saw that at the cinema this week and couldn't believe how poor it was, rather than building on the first film, it was just a predictable, dull and by-the-numbers action movie, with nothing in the way of suspense or excitement. I noticed one scene where it had been adapted/modified for a lower certificate, as Bryan Mills (I think) throws someone so their neck breaks over a pipe and there is absolutely no sound, whether should be a crunch/crack.

Anyway, with a director called Olivier Megatron, what should you realistically expect?!
It was just lazy filmmaking, you could tell they didn't really want to make the film which is why it clocks in at only 83 minutes. The first one had a grittiness to it with Neeson in unstoppable mode, he had a mission and he wasn't going to stop untill he finished. There are so many dumb moments in this film and the direction is less than stellar. Neeson has said that they wont be doing a third and thats a pretty good thing because if this is the level that they're going with then i think we're better off without a third.
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  #16688  
Old 14th October 2012, 01:38 PM
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I just don't get Taken at all. I saw the film when it came out and I thought it was instantly forgettable, I can't remember a single thing from that film. And at least two lads from work were going to see the sequel this w/end and these guys would not have been in a cinema in 10 or 15 years...
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  #16689  
Old 14th October 2012, 01:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Delirium View Post
John Dies at the End

Another London Film Festival film, this time the midnight matinee (or 11.15pm to be precise) screening of John Dies at the End from director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm/ Bubba Ho-Tep). For those who don't know it, the story is a comedy horror revolving around two slacker types turned ghostbusters who start seeing curious creatures after injesting a curious drug known as "Soy Sauce".

Enjoyed it, but I'd gone in with diminished expectations. I'm a HUGE fan of the book and figured there's no way they would be able to cram the book's content in, especially with a limited budget. But although there's huge chunks of the book missing, this is still a relatively entertaining stab; the clunky stop-motion and CGI common to Coscarelli's films adding a certain charm, and the leads are likable enough. I'm certainly curious to see it again now my initial curiosity has been sated, and can imagine it becoming a minor cult hit.

A nice surprise was Coscarelli showing up to introduce the film and sticking round to chat to fans afterwards. In a brief Q&A, he was asked if he'd be filming the book's sequel, This Book is full of Spiders, to which he said it completely depends on how well John Dies performs. I can't see it happening myself, especially with the trouble of getting Bubba Nosferatu off the ground - which he also talked about, with initial plans to cast Paul Giamatti (who is in John Dies) opposite Bruce Campbell (who pulled out).

A fun film, but read the book first. It's excellent!



This one sounds excellent! Good review, I think i'll read the book first as you suggested.
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  #16690  
Old 14th October 2012, 01:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs View Post
I've only seen those two from the set so far and will probably go through all the films before watching the Spanish version of Dracula and then listening to all the commentaries again (I listened to them years ago when I first bought the Legacy Collection DVD sets).

The AV quality is astonishingly good and I couldn't believe how 'recent' the new restored HD encoding makes the films look and sound.
I watched a few minutes of the Spanish Dracula after for comparison, the PQ is fantastic too!
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