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  #51911  
Old 28th March 2020, 06:07 PM
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Default Dark peace

Dark Angel.1990.
I Come in Peace.
Science fiction does not get any louder or dumber, than this hybrid of buddy cop movie and aliens running amok on earth. Its beaten into second place by Jack Sholders even louder and dumber but excellent The Hidden. IN fact Dark Angel/I Come In Peace is just as entertaining as The Hidden, but not quite as slick or as kinetic, and Mr Dolph Lundgren is nowhere near as enigmatic as Kyle MacLachlan. Still there is loads of fun and dumb ass action to be had, as drug trafficking aliens use the high tech technology of the day, cd’s as the murder weapon of there choice. Like so many films before it, we have our showdown in an abandoned industrial area, where Dolph Lundgren gets to face off against the very tall Matthias Hues, who obviously never learned anything at villain school or from Vernon Wells in Commando and gets impaled with a piece of pipe before being blown up. Overall the film is as daft as a brush but an entertaining science fiction knockabout, with corny dialogue and testosterone aplenty. There is a subplot about a gang of yuppie drug dealers called the White boys, lead by Day of the Dead’s very own Bub Sherman Howard, but that seems to get forgotten about towards the end, other than that a fine bonkers film.
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  #51912  
Old 28th March 2020, 07:14 PM
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Invisible Agent. 1942.

Frank Raymond, the grandson of Dr. Jack Griffin, still has the potion for invisibility but considers it too dangerous, is coaxed into using it and spy on the German army.

This might seem lift a daft story but was interesting, Jon Hall plays the grandson who uses the formula and parachutes into Germany to meet up with a agent Maria Sorenson played by Ilona Massey to get secrets of a invasion. Peter Lorre co stars as the Chinese General working with the Nazi army. This was a quick fast paced film mixed with thriller, suspense with a blend of laughter.

The Invisible Man's revenge. 1944.

A man finds a scientist who has the serum to make him invisible and seeks revenge on his former friends.

This was a bit dull and can seem to drag on, Jon Hall returns as the main character who seems to have no relation to the previous films finds a doctor played by John Carradine. The story seems straight forward and with a good star cast but found myself to be getting slowly drawn to boredom until the end with the protagonist getting his comeuppance in a form of a dog.

invisible Agent.jpg Invisible revenge.jpg
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  #51913  
Old 28th March 2020, 07:37 PM
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Village of the Damned (1960) ★★★★

Quote:
In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.
This is a great adaptation of John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos and a film which is – 60 years on from its theatrical release – still creepy, atmospheric, and unnerving.

George Sanders is brilliantly cast in the main role, lending his gravitas and wonderful voice (it's easy to close your eyes and picture The Jungle Book's Shere Khan) to the professor who hopes to teach the children and learn from them in the process.

In the supporting roles, Barbara Shelley, Laurence Naismith, and Michael Gwynn are solid screen performers, but it's Martin Stevens' portrayal of David, the chillingly gifted child which is the most memorable and a tour de force from the young actor.

Wolf Rilla's direction is very low-key, almost documentary style, making the events seem more realistic and threatening than if the film was particularly stylish and with more visual effects than just the children's glowing eyes.

I've seen this many times over the years and it never disappoints – the HMV Premium Collection Blu-ray release (apparently identical to the Warner Archive one) has very good AV quality and a commentary which I have listened to before and intend to do so again, probably right away.

Addendum

The commentary by Steve Haberman is an authoritative and information-filled track, delivered by somebody who knows the film, the filmmaking process, and those involved in its making.

It's a very good companion to the movie which is well worth your time if you like the film and want to know more about how it was made.
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  #51914  
Old 28th March 2020, 07:46 PM
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Skinner (1993) ★★★½

Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi) seems like a normal enough guy, but he has a very abnormal hobby. At night, he creeps through the back streets looking for potential victims, and when he finds one, carefully removes their skin with an elaborate collection of knives. Heidi (Traci Lords), one of Dennis' victims, is on his trail, waiting for a chance to get her revenge, but in the meantime Dennis has developed a crush on Kerry (Rikki Lake), and wants to find a way to show her he really cares.

This is the only time I've seen Ted Raimi not play a 'goofy' character but a genuine straight role and particular one where he needs to exude a degree of menace and sadism. As the film largely hangs on the plausible portrayal of the titular character, it's fortunate that, Raimi is as adept at this form of acting as he is in the comedic roles for which he is most famous.

The writing and direction by the Hungarian filmmaker Ivan Nagy is solid, working with cinematographer Greg Littlewood and composer Contagion to create something which is aurally and visually both stylish and interesting – the music elicits feelings of intrigue and menace whilst the visuals, frequently using smoke and high contrast lighting, often with reds, blues, or greens, emphasises the atmosphere. In the scenes with 'normal' conversations and traditional lighting, dutch angles are used neatly to create an impression that something isn't quite right – it isn't.

Besides Raimi's impressive performance, Rikki Lake is very good as Skinner's landlady and Traci Lords is a no weak link as the horrendously scarred victim out for revenge on her psychopathic torturer.

This may not be the crème de la crème of serial killer films, but it's something which has flown beneath the radar to the point where I hadn't seen it prior to buying the 101 Films dual format release.

I have enjoyed watching Skinner and I'm grateful that 101 Films have given it a range of interviews and such clear high definition picture and sound on the Blu-ray Disc.



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  #51915  
Old 28th March 2020, 08:34 PM
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3 from Hell (2019) ★★★½

Quote:
After barely surviving a furious shootout with the police, Baby Firefly, Otis Driftwood and Captain Spaulding are behind bars. But pure evil cannot be contained. Teaming up with Otis’ half-brother Winslow, the demented Firefly clan escape to unleash a whole new wave of murder, madness and mayhem.
Although the film is entirely unnecessary and this series (as it has come to be) should have finished at the end of The Devil's Rejects, I'm pleased Rob Zombie made this film because it is less frenetic and self-interested than its predecessors.

The film is carried by a career-best performance from Sheri Moon Zombie, someone who proves herself worthy of a leading role in a non-horror mainstream film where she can showcase her obvious acting talents to a wider audience than those who will watch expecting a bloodbath.

It was sad to watch the film with an obviously old and frail Sid Haig and think that he died within a year of that footage being shot, but also slightly happy that he was acting for so long and spending time with people he knew and loved, and that the feeling was mutual. In that sense, those scenes are bittersweet.

This is a film which is as nasty as it needs to be, far more interesting and engaging than I expected, and one which should have a lot of rewatch value.

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  #51916  
Old 28th March 2020, 09:21 PM
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You had me at unnecessary


Johnny Dangerously (1984, Amy Heckerling)

Dug this out to lighten the mood. Very silly spoof of WB gangster genre etc. Michael Keaton plays the titular protagonist, a criminal with a heart of gold. Still works, nearly every line is "humourous" to some degree etc. Recommended you fargin iceholes!!




Lust In The Dust
(1984, Paul Bartel)

Went for broke with this Divine/ Tab Hunter spoof. Lawdy it's silly on a base level due to the casting. Geoffrey Lewis excels as the villain.
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  #51917  
Old 28th March 2020, 09:34 PM
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Its the second world war and a 90 pound weakling wants to join the war effort after failing the medical exam numerous times he gets his chance with a secret government experiment which turns him into the world's first avenger. 7/10


Now watching a childhood favourite.


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  #51918  
Old 28th March 2020, 11:07 PM
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She (1984, Avi Nesher)


Crazed


Where has this been all my lfe already??
Sandahl Bergman. Nazi biker robot poapoc alien wizard MAYHEM. SEE IT.
Highly Recommended!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :nod :
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  #51919  
Old 28th March 2020, 11:20 PM
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To get over the shock, I put on the far more sedate and soothing Troma's War (1988)

Survivors of a plane crash have a fun time interacting with the locals that they come across.
A film that has more entertainment in it's opening scene than the silly kids light show I also perused this night ahem. Rise of the Something ....

Ahem. Kaufman should be POTUS. In my mind, he is
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  #51920  
Old 28th March 2020, 11:22 PM
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Default American Flyers, Student Bodies & New Jack City

Nothing on TV whatsoever that caught my attention so I did a triple bill.

American Flyers

When Video Magic opened it's glorious doors in the mid 80's that was when I started to become film crazy and one of my earliest memories was reading the magazine that the shop produced which detailed which movies were coming out that month along with description and a picture of the cover. American Flyers has the title and cover which gives me nostalgic memories. However I never rented this movie and during the 90's heyday of Woolworths, WH Smith, Virgin Megastore, HMV and MVC, I never saw the video available to buy nor when DVD'S came into play. Even today, for some reason I can't seem to find it anywhere even the cult labels like Arrow, 88 Films and 101 Films haven't released this. Come to think of it, I've never seen this on come on any TV or Satellite channels (Even the obscure movie channels like Movies 4 Men or Talking Pictures) For a Kevin Costner movie, it's one of those where films where it's disappeared completely

However I bought a (Guessing an import) DVD from Amazon, which had a lame cover (Not the one I remember vividly) and watched it today. I feared that it would be 1 of those films that was going to be good in it's day but in 2020, it wouldn't be as good however regardless of a slow start, I found this to be a thoroughly entertaining film. If I had watched it in the 80's, I think it would be 1 of my all time favorites. I'm guessing the UK Rental release had cuts because it was a PG back then and the version I watched certainly had some scenes (Nudity) that would have made it a 15 back then.

Student Bodies

I recently moved house and treated myself to a Blu Ray player. Another reason was because 88 Films and Arrow were releasing Blu Rays of films I wanted. I picked this 1 up in a sale. I must admit I enjoyed the beginning, it started drag on at the end and considering it was 85 minutes, that's not a good thing. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I had watched it 1st in the 80's instead of today.

New Jack City

This is 1 of my all time favorites, it has fantastic acting which if this was released this year, I believe that it would be up for Oscars for Wesley Snipes (Best Actor), Chris Rock (Best Supporting Actor) Mario Van Peebles (Best Director) as well as Best Film. To Be Honest, it should have been up for Oscars when it was eligible

Seen this many times
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