What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Down Town (1975)

For half an hour the Puerto Rico set Down Town is an intriguing noir style thriller / murder mystery. Franco himself has the lead role as a PI who is paid to take photos of a two timing husband by his wife. Unfortunately for Jess as soon as he's done the work the husband ends up dead and his wife it turns out is a different woman entirely. Franco the director throwing a sweaty yet intoxicating cool vibe over the viewer, slightly reminiscent of Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 thriller Body Heat.

It was at this stage that Franco lapses into one of his lazier moments and reverts to type by completely ignoring the story line and takes us head first into his own fantasy world with endless scenes of him shagging his real life muse - Lina Romay - and editing it all into the film. Whilst this may be fine for a while, it just goes on and on and on to the point of becoming boring...That was until i decided to play a drinking game where i took a shot of whisky every time the camera zoomed in on Romay's thatch. Needless to say, 7 minutes later i was paralytic and in need of a stomach pump.

With around ten minutes remaining the film reverted to noir thriller and the plot was clumsily wrapped up.

The film has some great ideas and a wonderful lilting jazz score, it also features the reliable Paul Muller as a detective working the case but his total screen time only added up to that of an extended cameo appearance. Jess Franco himself is also a plus point, his clumsy acting style fitting the bumbling PI perfectly. It's just a shame that my main memories of this will be close ups of Romay's cellulite...and that's being polite.

Never a truer word spoken

[fuzzymctiger]

Finally on holidays, absolutely sick of school. Been putting off writing these for a while but I figure now that I'm watching a movie or two a day, may as well write up what I've seen. These are my most recent ones, and this is the first part of many, which it imagine will get smaller and less detailed as they go as I haven't written reviews for months!

The Visitor - 4/10

This was really just a mess, there was so much wrong with this. So many plot holes, so many unlikable characters, and just so... Wrong. There was also quick a severe mean streak in the film, especially in the last 30-40 minutes. The main evil girl is god awful, but I guess that serves it's purpose. She gives a good performance however, looking quite honest, being the evilest little shit committed to screen with a horrendous southern accent. On that point, everyone really gives good performances, from the old man to the main adults. That is one of the redeeming features of the film, along with the really quite fantastic direction, with rich imagery and very good cinematography, used up on extremely 70's images and design. Just a shame so much was unexplained, it jumped all over the place, was way too long, and got quite harsh at the end (forced pregnancies, some quite sadistic scenes, a cripple main). Worth a single watch to soak in the good parts, but not sure if worth much else.

Spontaneous Combustion - 7/10

First off, some comments about Code Red's transfer. It's quite rich in detail and with very vivid colors, however the blacks all look crushed, with pretty much no detail. I'm not sure if this is inherent of the elements used, but it's hardly distracting, the disc looks great.
As for the film, after having heard so many dire comments about this, once again it has proven in my mind that Hooper has a unfairly harshly received body of work. It's fascinatingly unique, following a story about an atomic couple used in testing who are receiving radiation vaccinations and bear a child under these conditions. Don't want to spoil much, but many years down the track after an incident takes both parents, rage, secrets, mysterious truths and fire ensues. It's all very cool and for the most part the effects are fantastic, the performances are all pretty good, and I was so interested in it, the first 40 minutes flew by without myself even noticing. However where the film was really let down was the ending. The last act of the film jumps around a bit, pulls a few too many twists and develops too fast, then just gets stupid. The great fire effects become misaligned fire opticals, and continuity gets weird and it's just not great. Brad Douriff is fantastic and John Landis makes a hell of a cameo. Well worth seeking out in my opinion.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much - 8/10

I'm finally starting to wam up to Bava. My first few experiences with him weren't great at all. Bay of Blood was a cool protoslasher but got confusing and boring, Baron Blood was an extended Scooby Doo episode, Black Sunday was a bit boring and slow and let's not start on Lisa and the Devil, which I still haven't finished. Black Sabbath showed promise, as I quite enjoyed some of the segments, a Drop of Water in particular being a highlight. However these most recent 3 I've seen, reviewed below, have cemented in my eyes that he truly does have the talent of a great director.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much really is the archetypal Giallo, following a girl who is mugged and knocked out, and believes she witnesses a murder in a delirious state, whilst on holiday in Rome. Fantastically shot, great mysteries, and a great ending. Some bizarre slapstick scenes, and John Saxon delivers a fun performance. I recommend it

Shakma - 8/10

The furious baboon with the red ass strikes!! More Code Red blu ray fun. Transfer isn't as good as Spontaneous Combustion, but still good. Rich in detail, but the colours seem a tad faded, and a lot of sequences seem like they have Edge Enhancement, but I think this is more inherent of materials rather than processing and digitization.
The movie itself, is really cool and well made, but maybe a little bit too long. A baboon experimented on goes ape (hehe), but when he's meant to be put down, he is merely sedated in secret. When the staff go to play a high tech dungeons and dragons type game after dark, Shakma escapes and he's pissed! Quite brutal and tense, with a real baboon being used to enhance the tension and fright on screen. Some great kills and tension, however some sequences feel like they to really long, and there's also some shock character deaths. Ultimately quite tense and a bit bleak, but very cool and Shakma really does steal the show with his hatred for doors.

Jurassic World - 8/10

As a rabid Jurassic Park fan, I had mixed feelings before seeing this. I was massively excited until I saw the first trailer which just seemed... off. From then on I avoided all publicity material until I saw this. I still don't know how I feel about it after having seen it, as there is a lot wrong with it. However, the endless homages to the first film, the great action and characters, and the fact that it's a perfect hybrid of the first two movies and books overweighted the negative aspects.
The first 25 minutes, to be quite fair, were complete and utter shit. Massively cliched, dreadful performances, and really uninspired. The children are the worlds greatest stereotypes, elements such as the original park gate should have been dwelled on longer, and for a massive expensive park in a foreign country, an 88,000 yearly attendance and a tiny main area don't really seem right. However, once Chris Pratt enters the film, things pick up considerably. Great action, lots of interweaving webs of story which are all of interest, and lots of great set pieces. Characters improve dramatically, and it's really just great fun afterwards, a worthy continuation of the franchise and better than the dire second film. I know it's already grossed a billion in under 2 weeks, but if you liked the series it's well worth seeing.

Torture Dungeon - 2/10

Holy **** this is bad. So so so bad. From the cyclone wire fencing appearing in the first scene of what's meant to be a "period piece" I knew this would be bad but I never thought this bad. It's shot ****ing awfully, the acting is ****ing dreadful, the costumes and sets are so damn cheap, just shit this is so bad. However, it could have been at least Manos level of so bad it's hilarious. It has silly violence, silly drama, and the music randomly cuts around. But it doesn't want to be a cheap horror, and there's barely a torture dungeon. No no no, Milligan has decided he wants to direct a drama! A complicated drama of bisexual ménage Ã* trois with a monarch, servant, and a hunchback, accompanied by a drama involved an arranged marriage to a mentally unstable man, and the monarchs attempt to kill all successors to the throne. See? Milligan has great aspirations, but creates a stupidly boring horrendous movie. Only reason it gets an extra star is because of how laughably bad it all is.

Rabid Dogs - 9/10

This was the Bava film that finally won me over. This was a fantastic piece of filmmaking, in every sense of the word. Arrow's restoration is fantastic, the only times it falters is one scene using an alternate audio track with a different score, and the ending where the material is very shonky. Otherwise an admirable restoration.
The film is real time and follows bank robbers who take a man, his suspiciously sick and quiet child, and a woman hostage as they escape from enforcements to a get away car in the country. Incredibly tense, with massive threat and lots of little secrets and twists and developments. Fantastically paced and developed. Well shot and really well scored. The film is pretty much perfect.
Except one thing. Thanks to one character, there's a recurring element of sexual threat, that's really quite disturbing and uncomfortable, and the film would have been better if it wasn't there. It culminates in some extremely nasty forced urination and attempted assault, but this all thankfully ends when the character dies, and the film is far superior from then on. Near perfect, just sadly brought down by this one aspect.

To be continued... Wrote these whilst watching Milligan's Man With Two Heads which was actually good, and about to write more whilst watching Retribution

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Milligan's certainly an acquired taste. Great write-ups though Fuzzy; despite our obvious differences where Milligan is concerned. I also didn't think much of The Visitor when I first watched it and would have rated it around the 4/10 mark. It's grown on me with subsequent viewings though and I'd give it an 8/10 now, so make of that what you will!!

I really like Retribution (a shame that CR's Blu is the R Rated version though) so hopefully you'll enjoy it and I look forward to reading your thoughts.

[fuzzymctiger]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Milligan's certainly an acquired taste. Great write-ups though Fuzzy; despite our obvious differences where Milligan is concerned. I also didn't think much of The Visitor when I first watched it and would have rated it around the 4/10 mark. It's grown on me with subsequent viewings though and I'd give it an 8/10 now, so make of that what you will!!

I really like Retribution (a shame that CR's Blu is the R Rated version though) so hopefully you'll enjoy it and I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Well actually on Milligan, I really enjoyed the Man with Two Heads The acting was actually good, as was the writing, and it was quite fun. Production quality still very questionable however.

The Visitor has certainly stuck with me already based solely on its eerie imagery, so I imagine it'll get a rewatch at some point, and who knows, maybe I'll enjoy it more!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Thanks for the write ups Fuzzy.

Good work.

[fuzzymctiger]

Part 2, starting to get a bit far back now as I saw Mad Max the day it was released, and my memory is going to be a bit fuzzy for the next ones.

Body Double - 9/10

Brian DePalma can do no wrong in my books, there's something about his movies I just love, even if the thrillers feel a tad formula driven. They all have the same split focus shots, misleading characters and twists, a sudden shocking event, large sections of movement or surveillance with no dialogue. And it just works. Body Double is no different. Quite sleazy and dark compared to his more sleek and traditional thrillers like Obsession and Dressed to Kill, and even The Fury in a sense (yes this is so sleazy it makes Dressed to Kill look tame). The Aus BD is a great pick up for anyone who missed the Twilight Time, as it has all the previous extras from the DVD, and the same transfer and good audio.
As for the film itself, I wasn't entirely convinced at first, it seemed a bit all over the place and I wasn't sold on the main character, but then the Indian was introduced, and my god he's certainly one of the most chilling villains I've seen in a film for a wild, the reflecting aviators and muscle tops and all. It's quite good, with it's layers of observation and seduction, before becoming disturbing and sleazy, creating a Vertigo like shift in plot, however actually manages to pull it off (I don't like Vertigo but that's a story for another time). In the end, everything comes together and you'll slap your head saying "how did they do it". A fantastic watch.

Blood for Dracula - 6/10

The first of the Warhol/Keir creature features, the second of which is still in my watch pile, of which what I choose I delegate to my girlfriend. First off, the Australian blu ray is dirt cheap, but not fantastic. It's 1080i, and an honest HD transfer, just quite rough and with average compression.
As for the movie itself, it wasn't what I expected at all I for some reason just assumed "Warhol? Ah yes New York", thinking it would be a great little analogy for AIDS or Drug Addiction as a desperate to survive Dracula struggles to find pure blood. I will admit now, this was a very very blind buy of which I had done little reading into.
Well what you have if a frail and kind of pathetic Udo Keir attempting to court girls who are meant to be pure virgins so he can feast on their virgin blood. His assistant kind of steals the show with his harsh unforgiving performance, but it's kind of an uncomfortable film. The girls are anything but virgins, as they sleep around with the local super socialist handyman, who isn't opposed to a little forced sexual pleasure and insulting those who repeatedly come back to him for sex. If you haven't guessed yet, sex is the driving force of this movie, but it is so unsexy it's not even funny. The misogynistic handyman is painful, and you're left to root for poor Dracula. Udo Keir's fits and convulsions upon drinking unpure blood though are astounding.
In the end, there's not much left to hope for. The sleazy handyman tries to rape the last underage girl so she is "protected" and in the end she is left under his care as the other women and Dracula themselves fall to gross fates. No hope or happy ending here. Don't really know what to say, other than it's unique.

The Long Good Friday - 10/10

I can't remember who it is, but someone on here has the signature "The mafia? I've shit em". I've always wondered 1. How the hell do you say that, 2. What the hell does it mean, and 3. Where is it from? Well I know now, and I'll never forget. This is filmmaking at it's finest. Harold's world is falling apart and who is behind it. There's little to say because it's just so good, it's superbly crafted, a great mystery with masterful performances, and a shocking conclusions that will stay with you. I imagine most here have seen it, but if you haven't, do it. It looks stunning, the amazing score sounds great, just watch it.

Mad Max - 8/10

I'll admit, I had actually watched most of this before Fury Road came out, about two years ago. I bought the tape at the market, but shitty tape audio meant, like my first viewing of Reservoir a Dogs, I had no idea what was being said, and the tape itself would just not play past about 50 minutes.
As for the film, the classic where it all begun. Wouldn't have minded at all if the franchise stayed in this mind. Rural Melbourne is dystopian? Post apocalyptic? To be honest, just a little bit more quiet and run down than usual. Otherwise looks much the same, all the familiar roads and sights I've seen and driven on before. The road scenes at the start are great, before it divulges into a gang harassment and revenge film like many seen before. It's a bit slow in the middle, but quite brutal and tense. A lot could be cut out of Max's little holiday in the middle, but when he goes out and gets revenge, oh boy is it good. A great classic Aussie watch. Started Road Warrior but wasn't really impressed at all, will have to finish it at some point.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Ms Osbourne - 10/10

This was a case similar to Zombi 2 where I hyped myself up excessively before seeing this. I absolutely loved loved loved the Boro set, the trailers Arrow made looked amazing, and the though of Boro doing a straight horror movie in a lovingly restored edition were tantalizing. I wasn't disappointed at all.
The film itself is quite interesting. It wasn't anywhere near as explicit or brutal as I expected, especially after the comments MichaelB had made in the threads at blu-ray.com, but I guess it would have been back when it came out. But yes, I quite enjoyed it even though it wasn't the straight out horror movie I expected. It slowly builds up the wedding party, the exposition is still interesting thank god, and some of the performances are quite funny and interesting. However everything takes off real fast and gets out of control, with party goers, both male and female, being dispatched by Hyde's, err, member. From here people are terrified, confused, and well out of control. Some scenes are darkly comic, others quite intense, and even a few touching ones. The ending really has to be seen to be believed. Typical of Boro, the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, and the score is also another pleasant wonder here, haunting and fantastic. Highest praise, hope Arrow tackle more Boro titles.

Avengers: Age of Ultron - 7/10

Got dragged along with the family to see this, and in the end wasn't anywhere near as bored as I expected. I thought the first was pretty ordinary, and this one looked boring as hell, and I hadn't seen any of the Marvel films since Iron Man 3. It's a bit all over the place, throwing you right in, and then for the entire rest of the movie unsure if it wants to be lighthearted, dark and moody, or action focused, which makes it a bit of a mess. Ultron wasn't much of a villain or character, but this is made up for by other surprising character editions such as the Twins, and nice new character who I won't spoil, but has a stunning resemblance to Dr Manhattan in mannerisms and speech. As usual with these types of Transformers/Avengers type way too long action sci fi affairs, there is a large scale final battle that is way too long. In the end, enjoyable way to pass the time, give it a rent.

Mad Max: Fury Road - 10/10 x2

So damn good I saw it twice. This is efficient film making people, give the fans what they want without any unnecessary stuff. No forced romance, no tiresome exposition or pace killing lengthy dialogues. Just constant action and looming doom. Everyone is great, effects are to die for, the story is simple and the action is choreographed to perfection. It's just so much fun and keeps you on the edge of your seat. But the one thing that drives it to perfection for me was the direction. George Miller crafts a vision unlike any you've ever seen before, constantly blending cameras and style, slightly altering film speeds, and using rich deep colors to craft an almost art house level directing to what is ultimately a blockbuster. This is really one that has to be seen in cinemas wherever you can.

Will have to finish Retribution another night as I was too tired to keep watching it, but was impressed so far. The soundtrack to writing this was PiL's greatest hits because Graham Humphrey posts about them a fair bit, and Cannibal Corpse's Butchered at Birth because I thought why not. Isn't Spotify fun for discovering music

[fuzzymctiger]

I am so so so tired so I'll save the last 6 movies for tomorrow morning, but here's the next part. 4,200 words worth of reviews so far.

The Incredible Melting Man - 6/10

Accidentally wrote 10/10 before and had to do a double take when I reread it. Was having a ****ing laugh. Incredible Melting Man is a perfectly average movie. I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's not good. It's certainly fun though, good honest entertainment. It's straight into things, silly and fun, and all the characters are kind of reserved and honest, never really over doing things, or under doing things. The effects are fantastic, the whole reason to watch really. The old couple were adorable. The ending was quite moving really, the overlay of the mission takeoff audio with the eventual demise of the melting man is touching in a way. Good fun.

The Eerie Midnight Horror Show - 5/10

Eh, this was a meh movie. Code Red's blu ray is called a Grindhouse edition because it's taken from a shonky print. Shonky print of a shonky movie. Some bizarre sexual elements are witnessed by a child who then becomes possessed? And some things happen. I barely remember this because there was just nothing of interest. It wasn't dead boring because weird things kept happening, but it's just forgettable. There is nothing too eerie, not a lot of midnight, and barely any horror. Certainly no giant lips. The Night Child did this far better
Ok I actually went and looked a review to jog my memory so I didn't actually confuse it with Night Child. An art student in possession of an old Crucified station, gets ****ed by a demon that comes out of it, then has weird hallucinations and is possessed, but only sometimes? God

Hunger - 10/10

This is powerful film making. This is the kind of thing that makes you reconsider things. The brutal shocking treatment of these political prisons, the dire situation of their protests, the eventual hunger strike, and the death. Quite minimal, and very stark and bleak, it really is just see viewing, relying most on conversation and quiet contemplating to drive powerful points home. It'll stay with you, that's for sure

Blood and Black Lace - 8/10

The last Bava being reviewed. Quite colorful and impressive, and Arrow's blu ray certainly does it justice. A nice murder mystery, with some cool death scenes, twists and conspiracies. Some very very tense stalking scenes as well. What let this one down was the last part. It reveals it's secret too soon, shows some behind the scenes of the murders, before we get arguments between villains and the penultimate conclusion. Strange decision really, they should have left it at least a bit longer.

Lost in Translation - 10/10

This movie cops an awful lot of undeserved flak. I've always wanted to see it, so I took the time out to just sit down and watch it, and I fell in love with it. It's a beautiful charming movie, and it resonated with me a scary amount. For starters, during the two trips to Japan I've done, I've been to every location in this films, except for the golf course in the Fuji Lakes area, though I stayed around that area. So all of the areas in the film I had personally experienced and were familiar with. Secondly, it follows characters who are burnt out with life, looking for direction and they tire of the same tedious routine around them and search for meaning. When I saw this movie, I myself was in a similar point as these character, with each week following the same routine and having no idea what I wanted to do I'm the ever drawing future. Gladly that's changed since, but it hasn't made the movie any less powerful. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansen are perfect as two people staying in the prestigious Park Hyatt in Shinjuku with very little of interest to do except drink. However they meet and grow to enjoy each other as they break habit to have fun and a good time, and inevitably fall in love before their departure. It's masterfully crafted in every single way, and is absolutely touching. Please see it and give it a chance before, like many do, dismissing it as boring and overrated.

12 Angry Men - 10/10

This was around a time I had a really good run with absolutely fantastic movie. One room, 2 hours, 12 jurors, and the rest I guess is history. This movie is pure acting and script, and could very easily have been a play or stage production. Rich with symbolism and classic performances, it's powerful in it's depictions of the various views and walks of life, and the value and worth of accepting both points of view and analyzing all the factors brought before you, putting bias to the side. There were many times of evidence being brought up or views changing where I just had an open mouth going "Ooooooooooh". It provokes a reaction, and is a perfect summary of every debate you've ever had or will.

The Hitcher - 10/10

Well this is probably the biggest surprise of my recent viewing. This has very good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB which I never knew, as I just put this on whilst doing some homework expecting a run of the mill slasher type fare, and holy shit was I blown away. This is tense tense tense viewing here people, Rutger Hauer playing the enigmatic Hitcher, who for the most part you question whether he is even real or not. After picking up the hitchhiker from hell, a car deliverers life is turned upside in the ultimate cat and mouse game. Surprisingly well made and directed, and is really really impressive with it's action, tension, and crafting. I hope it sees blu ray some day.

2001: A Space Odyssey - 10/10

Saw this in 70mm in the final session at my local single screen, their closing night before they were saved, renovated, and are now reopened thank god. I'd put off seeing this for years waiting for the chance to see it I'm 70mm, constantly missing it during it's quarterly screenings due to various engagements. Took the girlfriend along, and found a movie that was not what I was expecting at all.
This film is sci fi but not entirely. The first few sections act as backstory, reminding me almost of Solaris, as we see the dawn of the modern man thanks to the monolith, and then learn some back story on the discovery of a second monolith. Following an absolutely ear piercing signal (seriously this really hurt in cinemas), the movie suddenly jumps into the main and well known story. And from here, we have in my opinion a horror movie. Hal's descent to madness and everything that accompanies it borders on a horror movie, accompanied by a frightening score, and the ending, well talking to other people afterwards I don't know if it was experience based.
But well I was shitting myself. The entering of the monolith, the inside with the starscapes and distorted face and the howling voices of the score had me shaking and genuinely frightened, completely immersed in it thanks to the flawless 70mm print and 6 track magnetic sound that was thunderously loud. I also have my own interpretation of it all, but I'm too tired and it'd take too long to write and explain, so maybe another time. Otherwise, this truly is an absolutely classic and a fantastic piece of film making, but certainly not what I ever thought it was.

Baraka - 10/10

Not an awful lot to say about this one. Saw it in 70mm, and it's just as good as Samsara, with a beautiful score and stunning imagery.

I need to sleep, so expect We're the Millers, Citizen toxie, Inherent Vice, Focus, Faust: Love of the Damned, Hollywood Shuffle, Princess, and Trukery Shoot in the morning

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Great reviews, Fuzzy!

Take a well deserved rest!

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Excellent reviews of some great films, Fuzzy – brilliant stuff.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Great reviews, Fuzzy!

Take a well deserved rest!

Shut up B_E.

He's only just started.