What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Batman and Robin (1997)

Whilst not the greatest Batman film i've always enjoyed Batman and Robin. Sure it's the polar opposite of Nolan's Batman films, hell it's not even like the two Tim Burton films that preceded it and first film Batman Forever but it's still a hell of a lot of fun and works more on the lines of the sixties tv show than anything else with it's extravagant brighter than bright day-glow sets and wildly over the top menagerie of villains.

Of those villains, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze stands out. Arnie's never one for subtlety but he's clearly having a blast here delivering catch phrases, put downs and parodied cliches with real zest. Uma Thurman is fine as the sexy Poison Ivy but Bane unfortunately simply comes across as her bodyguard muscle rather than a fully rounded character.

Where it falters is with the caped crusader and his pals. George Clooney is in all truth a shit Batman and Chris O'Donnell an even shitter Robin yet together with their codpieces and nipple fetishes to the fore they somehow remain watchable even if at times i was hankering for Michael Keaton's version of the Dark Knight. Then there's Alicia Silverstone's Batgirl. She looks good in her suit and .... well that's about it really.

Yet despite these obvious faults i still like Batman and Robin. It's loud, it's brash, it's colourful and it's fun and i prefer it to 90% of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[MrBarlow]

Casualties Of War 1989.

During the Vietnam War, a soldier becomes an outsider of his squad when they Kidnap a female villager and intends to bring them to justice.

This is a brutal detection story that was based on a true story brought to life by Brian DePalma that is, disturbing, tragic and haunting. Michael J. Fox stars as the young soldier under the command of Sean Penn who has a crisis of conscience and disagrees with the kidnapping. Both actors do a great job squaring off against each other and try to silence a whistle blower and things look grim with what seems to be a cover up.

May not be a epic film like Platoon or Full Metal Jacket but does have its strong powerful memorable moments and its insight to innocence lost as the young soldiers taking lives and others wounded and loosing their lives with the people they are supposed to be helping.

[Demoncrat]

Black Gunn (1972, Robert Hartford-Davies)

Yes, the chap who helmed The Fiend.
Jim Brown is Tommy Gunn.




Need more?


JB knows the score, but when an errant relative queers his pitch (so to speak), it's up to him to sort it out. And how!!
Slightly silly, slightly flat, but still a country mile betterer than that awful Shaft remake.

[MrBarlow]

First Blood 1982.

Vietnam Vet John Rambo, visiting a friend is bullied by a Sheriff and falsely arrested, he escapes jail and hides out in the mountains and begins to wage a one man war against his pursuers.

Aside from the Rocky movies, Sylvester Stallone other character Rambo has to be one of his best performances of the early 80s, here he plays former Green Beret hero Rambo, who seems to be spat on by Sheriff Teasle played by Brain Dennehy who seems to have marked his territory and keeping it that way with his deputies. Richard Crenna plays his part well as Colonel Trautman who trained and commanded Rambo and knows how to stop him and rescue the police from a one man army.

There is some great action and performances from everyone under the direction of Ted Kotcheff, even the book is different with the characters and the writers turned it around and made Rambo decent and almost empathetic for the audience, and a great background score from Jerry Goldsmith, still a good classic.

"They drew first blood...Not me".

[MrBarlow]

Rambo: First Blood part II. 1985

5 years since Rambo lead a one man army, now serving in a prison, he is granted release and a full Presidential pardon if he takes a mission to go back to Vietnam and search for missing POWs who are still to be there held by the Vietnamese and Russian army.

Decent action packed sequel, this one is different from the previous film, its not about raging war but the after effects of a war and the prisoners. Stallone returns as the man that can help after he knows the area. Richard Crenna returns as Trautman who introduces Rambo to Murdock (Charles Napier), who is in charge of the operation to find the missing American soldiers. Steven Berkoff plays the Russian Captain Podovsky who seems to enjoy the torture and suffering of people.

Excellent performances from everyone even with Trautman and Murdock exchanging words about Rambo and questioning the mission of just government politics, and how not to upset a guy as he came come back in not the best of moods. George P. Cosmatos dons the director's chair with this film partly written with James Cameron and Stallone making a few adjustments it and more fast paced action with a bow and arrow and help from a rocket launcher makes it great.

"To survive a war, you gotta become war".

[MrBarlow]

Rambo III. 1988

Rambo living a peaceful life in Thailand, helping Buddhist monks with their monastery and stick fighting for extra money, is coerced by Trautman for a mission with Soviet army invading Afghanistan, when he refuses, Trautman goes in and is kidnapped, Rambo decides to go in and rescue him.

This one i have only seen a handful or less fingers, it's not the best film in the series (IMHO), it's ok to watch but when it came out there was a bit of too much hype for it even had the game for the Spectrum. Stallone and Crenna return to take on the Russians with the help of the Afghans.

The film did start off well then slowly looses its direction to the point of where its like who lives and dies does't matter, Jerry Goldsmith's score has always been memorable in the series with some funny bits of dialogue. A year before this film Kurtwood Smith was in Robocop and seeing him as a american official and expecting him to swear wasn't happenning.

Zaysen: Are you insane? One man against trained commandos... Who do you think this man is? God?
Colonel Trautman: No. God would have mercy. He won't

[Demoncrat]

The Choirboys (1977, Robert Aldrich)

Meet the guys. All upstanding members of their profession
The night watch prowl the mean streets. Racist, venal and self-serving to the core cough. Aldrich doesn't get enough attention nowadays. A shame.
Based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel, this trawl is lightened by some rather dark humour. No pun intended

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

The Choirboys (1977, Robert Aldrich)

Meet the guys. All upstanding members of their profession
The night watch prowl the mean streets. Racist, venal and self-serving to the core cough. Aldrich doesn't get enough attention nowadays. A shame.
Based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel, this trawl is lightened by some rather dark humour. No pun intended

This used to be a staple of late night tv at one time or at least it seemed like it.

Is it available on dvd?

[trebor8273]

The best film Scorsese has done in sometime and the best mobster movie in the last 15 years or so. Great performance all round and the best use of deaging technology I've seen. At 3 and half hours watched it in two parts. I can see this being snub at the Oscars because it's netflix. 9.5/10

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

The best film Scorsese has done in sometime and the best mobster movie in the last 15 years or so. Great performance all round and the best use of deaging technology I've seen. At 3 and half hours watched it in two parts. I can see this being snub at the Oscars because it's netflix. 9.5/10

Is it really three and a half hours long?