What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

Some Kind of Wonderful.



Class War the movie!

One of my favourites. May as well have called it Handsome In Blue since it's basically Pretty In Pink.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

If you were to ask 100 people what the leading causes of climate change were, I would imagine at least 99 of them would say the burning of fossil fuels, probably to do with transportation. However, as figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show, the CO2 created by burning oil, coal, gas and other fossil fuels is lower than that created by animal agriculture at 14%. When other factors are taken into consideration, the figure from animal agriculture is much higher at 51% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. By comparison, transportation (road, rail, aeroplanes and ships) is responsible for 13% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

I stumbled across this documentary by accident and watched it on YouTube (I'll watch the new cut of the film, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, on Netflix next week; I didn't realise that was there until after watching it on YouTube) and found many things I was not aware of before. Perhaps the most troubling is the complicity of many environmental organisations including Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Rainforest Action Network, and others, in keeping animal agriculture out of the public's awareness. Their policies mean most people think that by taking shorter showers, turning the taps off when brushing their teeth, turning off lights when leaving the room/house and switching to more energy-efficient bulbs, they can make a huge difference to water shortage and climate change. The reality is that doing so is a drop in the ocean when compared to the environmental impact of animal agriculture.

The difference between CO2 and methane, as argued in Cowspiracy, is that the former is easier to politicise and turn into a 'good vs evil' argument, demonising the massive factories that spew out clouds of smoke. It isn't so easy or palatable to illustrate to the general public that, simply by eating meat and dairy, they are complicit in turning huge areas of the earth into desert, escalating deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, killing the oceans, and making countless species extinct every day. Furthermore, methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame, and has a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 in the same time span.

Cowspiracy is a thought-provoking film, and one which makes you wonder why the silence about animal agriculture is so deafening – not just from governments, but from environmental organisations. As such, it's no wonder the film was only possible due to IndieGoGo crowdfunding because, as documented in the film, one the backers dropped out because the material was too controversial. (People have been killed in Brazil for speaking out against the animal agriculture industry.) If you have any interest in environmental issues, this is a must watch.

COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Ghoul (1975)

Written by Anthony Hinds, The Ghoul is basically a remake of Hammer's The Reptile, also written by Hinds. The second feature for Kevin Francis' Tyburn Films and their first proper Horror in the classic Hammer tradition. The Ghoul is directed by acclaimed cinematographer and Kevin's father Freddie Francis. Whilst Freddie was brilliant with a camera his direction is not so good as The Ghoul is really lacking in suspense despite a good premise that worked well for Hammer.

By 1975 Hammer as a horror film production company were all but finished with only the following years To The Devil a Daughter to come. (A film that is severely underrated in my opinion). Kevin Francis wanted Tyburn to take over the Gothic horror mantle that had proved so successful for Hammer during the proceeding fifteen or so years. Unfortunately during this period the market for horror films had changed. American films like Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre dragged the genre kicking and screaming into the seventies and Hammer productions although rather gorgeous to look at appeared quite tame in comparison despite their added nudity and gore.

Here lies the problem with The Ghoul. It's even tamer than Hammer's output. There's no nudity despite the lovely Veronica Carlson featuring in an extended bathing scene and the gore, what there is, is kept off screen bar one sequence. Freddie Francis's stale direction fails to generate any suspense and it all feels a bit hollow, almost like a rejected Hammer film. In fact not a lot happens throughout. Indeed the first 30 minutes are taken up with dancing at a flapper party and a poorly realized car race. Even Don Henderson's ghoul of the title isn't particularly chilling despite the fact he remains off screen until the final few minutes.

Having said that The Ghoul has plenty of plus points. It's cast for one. Tyburn managed to snag Peter Cushing as the lead as well as Hammer beauty Carlson. Alexandra Bastedo and the always reliable Ian McCulloch also have prominent roles. John Hurt plays Cushing's grounds keeper in what appears a quite seedy role but it should have been seedier. The production values are also quite good, filming in a large country estate, something that Hinds did often for Hammer, utilizing the classic Gothic mansion rather than sets.

The Ghoul like it's follow up production Legend of The Werewolf flopped badly in cinemas and brought a quick end to Tyburn Productions and unfortunately both films remain in some sort of home video hell and haven't been released on any format since the vhs i've just watched from 1996.

Despite it's flaws The Ghoul deserves a release of some description. The vhs i watched looks quite pretty (I watched it on a 42" tv) so even a direct port to dvd would be acceptable and it is one i'd snap up in a heartbeat.

Below are a couple of quite literal screen grabs to show the image quality of the vhs.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Tiffany Jones (1973)

Tiffany, a bouncy London model is entangled in a plot to depose the cruel president of fictitious nation Zirdana and return the rightful handsome prince to the throne.

Based on a Daily Mail cartoon strip, Pete Walker's Tiffany Jones is a light, frivolous, sexy romp which is thoroughly entertaining. From the delightful Anouska Hempel as Jones and the running gag of Ray Brooks always calling round when she's in the bath to some laugh out loud funny dialogue, the film always engages even if the plot is light on developments. Chock full of nudity, Tiffany Jones is a throwback to the flowery party days of the early seventies with some saucy seaside post card smut thrown in for good luck.


Another film with no release on shiny disc. My vhs is on the Stablecane label. Usually notorious for rubbish transfers, i was surprised how decent it actually looked on a 42" screen.

[MacBlayne]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

If you were to ask 100 people what the leading causes of climate change were, I would imagine at least 99 of them would say the burning of fossil fuels, probably to do with transportation. However, as figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show, the CO2 created by burning oil, coal, gas and other fossil fuels is lower than that created by animal agriculture at 14%. When other factors are taken into consideration, the figure from animal agriculture is much higher at 51% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. By comparison, transportation (road, rail, aeroplanes and ships) is responsible for 13% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

I stumbled across this documentary by accident and watched it on YouTube (I'll watch the new cut of the film, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, on Netflix next week; I didn't realise that was there until after watching it on YouTube) and found many things I was not aware of before. Perhaps the most troubling is the complicity of many environmental organisations including Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Rainforest Action Network, and others, in keeping animal agriculture out of the public's awareness. Their policies mean most people think that by taking shorter showers, turning the taps off when brushing their teeth, turning off lights when leaving the room/house and switching to more energy-efficient bulbs, they can make a huge difference to water shortage and climate change. The reality is that doing so is a drop in the ocean when compared to the environmental impact of animal agriculture.

The difference between CO2 and methane, as argued in Cowspiracy, is that the former is easier to politicise and turn into a 'good vs evil' argument, demonising the massive factories that spew out clouds of smoke. It isn't so easy or palatable to illustrate to the general public that, simply by eating meat and dairy, they are complicit in turning huge areas of the earth into desert, escalating deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, killing the oceans, and making countless species extinct every day. Furthermore, methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame, and has a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 in the same time span.

Cowspiracy is a thought-provoking film, and one which makes you wonder why the silence about animal agriculture is so deafening – not just from governments, but from environmental organisations. As such, it's no wonder the film was only possible due to IndieGoGo crowdfunding because, as documented in the film, one the backers dropped out because the material was too controversial. (People have been killed in Brazil for speaking out against the animal agriculture industry.) If you have any interest in environmental issues, this is a must watch.

COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret

My dad is a farmer and is screaming about this and how "they're coming for my cattle" but, it's a fact, sadly (as you can imagine, my dad and I do get into heated arguments).

Honestly, though - I have no idea what could be done. Agriculture is a huge, huge economy that sustains millions upon millions of people. No sane government is going to put a stop to it. On one hand it's great because people are not going to be made penniless. On the other hand, it may not mean much in a century because the world will be so wrecked.

I've read how scientists are trying to augment the bacteria in cows' digestive systems to produce less methane. I hope they succeed or else this is going to cause major unrest in society and government.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

We do seem to be doing a good job of wrecking the world as it is without blaming cow farts.

I must admit i was surprised Nos posted that review as it's bound to provoke discussion and he usually clamps down immediately on anything remotely political.

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

My dad is a farmer and is screaming about this and how "they're coming for my cattle" but, it's a fact, sadly (as you can imagine, my dad and I do get into heated arguments).

Honestly, though - I have no idea what could be done. Agriculture is a huge, huge economy that sustains millions upon millions of people. No sane government is going to put a stop to it. On one hand it's great because people are not going to be made penniless. On the other hand, it may not mean much in a century because the world will be so wrecked.

I've read how scientists are trying to augment the bacteria in cows' digestive systems to produce less methane. I hope they succeed or else this is going to cause major unrest in society and government.

I was gonna suggest butt plugs ? As you can tell I have all the makings of a scientist.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

My dad is a farmer and is screaming about this and how "they're coming for my cattle" but, it's a fact, sadly (as you can imagine, my dad and I do get into heated arguments).

Honestly, though - I have no idea what could be done. Agriculture is a huge, huge economy that sustains millions upon millions of people. No sane government is going to put a stop to it. On one hand it's great because people are not going to be made penniless. On the other hand, it may not mean much in a century because the world will be so wrecked.

I've read how scientists are trying to augment the bacteria in cows' digestive systems to produce less methane. I hope they succeed or else this is going to cause major unrest in society and government.

It might take time for things to change, just as it did with the tobacco industry suppressing the damage its products was doing to those who bought and used them.

One thing which I remember from the documentary is when it mentions countries which are too poor to feed thousands of children, but can feed cattle because they can be killed and exported to more affluent countries in the West. It's crazy.

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

We do seem to be doing a good job of wrecking the world as it is without blaming cow farts.

I must admit i was surprised Nos posted that review as it's bound to provoke discussion and he usually clamps down immediately on anything remotely political.

Sadly, it's not just cow farts, but huge areas of rainforest and other land being flattened so cattle can graze (or be kept in warehouses and fed on corn because they grow faster) and all the land (and rivers and sea) which is ruined by the 'run-off' from the castle. I think I mentioned the huge amount of water it takes to produce the beef – 2500 gallons are needed to produce 1 pound of beef (and 1000 gallons needed to produce 1 gallon of milk), so the equation for one burger is incredible. There's also the land needed to grow the crops to feed the cattle, which links to my earlier point about countries choosing to feed cattle rather than their own population.

I hadn't thought about the political aspect and possible debate until you mentioned it; Cowspiracy is a brilliant documentary and, like Blackfish, has proved extremely thought-provoking.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

I was gonna suggest butt plugs ? As you can tell I have all the makings of a scientist.

I don't think exploding cattle is the answer!

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I don't think exploding cattle is the answer!

make good telly though.