What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Rik]

Originally Posted by gag

Problem & faults seem to slowly becoming the norm these days.

Yeah, especially for films released in yellow cases

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Bridge at Remagen. (1969)

Classic war film based on fact as Allied forces advance on Germany and attempt to capture the titular bridge over the River Rhine before the Germans could destroy it.

Less gung-ho and more world weary than you'd expect from this kind of film (Perhaps in a nod to the war in Vietnam which was going on at the time it was made). George Segal and Ben Gazzara excel in almost downbeat roles at the forefront of the spearhead on the bridge.

Robert Vaughn also gives a highly memorable performance as the jaded German Major charged with blowing the bridge up in order to halt the Allied advance.

Whilst there are some terrific action sequences (including tanks) this is more a tale of disenchanted human drama meaning director John Guillermin's film is slightly different to the norm.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Longest Day (1962)

Five directors and 42 international stars along with a budget of approx $10m and it's all there on screen. Depicting the day leading up to and D-Day 6/6/1944, itself, The Longest Day is epic stuff.

Five directors usually means trouble when it comes to film making but they all intertwine seamlessly here as human drama and tactical masterplan's give way to tense action as D-Day is shown from the viewpoints of British, American, French resistance and German military personnel.

If you haven't seen it seek it out. You'll learn something about the pivotal event that changed the course of the Second World War as well as seeing the likes of Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, Sean Connery, Robert Ryan, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton and perhaps most importantly Richard Todd, who played Major John Howard, leader of the British airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge. Todd took part in the real bridge assault on D-Day. He was offered the chance to play himself but took the part of Major Howard instead. All the actors fit in remarkably well and the battle scenes are numerous and memorably staged.

A genuine five star war film which holds it's three hour length perfectly.

[Dave Boy]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Longest Day (1962)

Nice one Dem. I watched it as well.

the-longest-day-original-1960s-quad-linen-backed-4951-p.jpg

[iank]

I want to see that one.

Can't afford sweet FA at present alas.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Like Demdike and Dave Boy, I also watched The Longest Day on Thursday. It's a triumph of filmmaking by the multiple directors and all-star ensemble cast, bringing the scale and human cost of D-Day to the screen beautifully. My only niggle with the film is Sean Connery's comedy lines during the beach assault (those scenes don't have the intensity and spectacle of something like Saving Private Ryan), but that really is nitpicking in an epic film where the time flies and the multiple A-listers never seen miscast or dominating scenes which would be better if the roles had been played by lesser-known actors.

I watched Rocketman at the cinema yesterday, a film I thought was very well constructed and brought the first few decades of Elton John's rise to fame and stardom to the screen beautifully. Dexter Fletcher has established himself as a fine director and his collaborative work with Taron Egerton (they worked together on the charming and engaging Eddie the Eagle) has never been better.

Egerton surprised me with his singing and screen presence here in a performance which I found more believable and skilled than Rami Malek's Oscar-winning turn in Bohemian Rhapsody, a film which Fletcher completed after Bryan Singer's departure. It's surprising that I thought this was the better of the two musical biopics, blending reality and fantasy and taking advantage of the unreliable narrator to create something which was funny, moving, has wonderfully choreographed musical numbers and a great soundtrack.

Other films I've recently seen include:

– Kubo and the Two Strings, another triumph stop motion animated film from Laika with a beautifully written and exciting adventure story. It's a film which plays on the nature of storytelling and relationships, combining those two elements to make something with real heart and humour, and a film which packs an emotional punch at the end.

– The Post, which follows in the footsteps of the Oscar-winning Spotlight and Bridge of Spies (another Spielberg-Hanks period drama) in dramatising true events with a great cast and taking an important part of history to make it relevant to contemporary society and creating dramatic tension when, considering the events are many decades old and never really in doubt during the film, has no right to be there! Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep are both on top form and benefit from a fine ensemble cast, great script, direction, and period design.

– Isle of Dogs, a film I loved at the cinema and did again at home. It's a typically quirky Wes Anderson film with great attention to detail, a sense of experimentation, fun, and playfulness which few directors have, and it's yet another case of a film with an all-star cast, in this case existing behind microphones in the recording booth!

– Lake Placid, which I probably last saw on Sky Movies about 18 years ago. It doesn't have the best balance of comedy and horror (it's no Shaun of the Dead or Evil Dead II), but is an enjoyable monster movie.

– Killer Mermaid, a first-time watch and blind buy from Music Magpie (I only realised it was available on Prime Video when the DVD was on its way to me!), and one which confounded my expectations. The description and packaging led me to believe it would be a slightly trashy and/or sleazy horror version of something like Splash!, When it's much more of a 'straight' horror about people trapped on a remote location. In that sense, it has more in common with something like R-Point than Ron Howard's romantic comedy.

– Loving Vincent is another film which I loved at the cinema (actually a local art centre) and is as notable for the incredible visuals as the engrossing and beautifully told mystery story about the last days of Vincent Van Gogh's life and the strange circumstances surrounding his death.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Motorpsycho! (1965)

In Motorpsycho a country vet teams up with Meyer regular Haji to exact revenge on three biker hoodlums who bring rape, terror and general mayhem to a small town.

Russ Meyer's excellent thriller left behind (more or less) the gratuitous sex and added gratuitous violence to the mix in this take on The Wild One blended with revenge thrillers, playing out like a classic western thanks to it's desert town setting.

The voluptuous Haji proves she has the acting talent to match her magnificent figure, however if you're intending watching this for the mammary's then you'll leave disappointed.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Flying Dutchman (2001)

Known as Frozen in Fear in the UK, it features the lovely Catherine Oxenberg as an art dealer fascinated by the paintings of a disturbed man in an isolated Montana town. After meeting Sean (Eric Roberts) she falls for him but soon discovers a series of young women have gone missing in the area over the past few months.

In all truth this horror / thriller is a fairly average tv movie, albeit nicely photographed, making atmospheric use of it's wilderness locations. There's not much in the way of violence until the finale when it suddenly decides to go down the sexploitation route with the camera practically salivating at a gagged naked girl strapped to a table.

Rod Steiger co-stars, and he Roberts and Oxenberg make it a better watch than it probably deserves.

[MrBarlow]

Rawhead Rex 1986.

In a small town in Ireland a ancient demon is released from his prison and goes on a murderous rampage, An American tourist couple get caught up and try to banish the demon back.

This was a interesting plot from Clive Barker (who hated the movie), David Dukes plays Howard, author exploring folklore in Ireland, who seems to understand missing pieces in order to destroy the demon. This was done on a low budget and the costume mask looks way to rubbery to take seriously. the acting from the main cast i think was the only savior to the film, still worth a watch. 5-6 out of 10.

[bleakshaun]

Guardians of the Tomb
A pharmaceutical business owner, brings the daughter of his dead partner to find her brother, who's been radio silent in China. They go there with a team to find him, only to be attacked by mutant spiders.
The cover itself looks like a cynical cash grab but to be fair it's not that bad. It actually feels like a fun adventure movie. Also Kelsey Grammar is in it, which is great.

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