What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

Robot-Monster. 1953

The last surviving family on earth are in the path of annihilation from Ro-Man.

Silly cheesy B movie that does start of good, then becomes confusing with a dream sequence to the monster coming out of a cave, with the body of a gorilla and a spaceman's helmet for a head. Listed as a Amusingly bad ridiculous monster movie, it does have it's moments where you can only laugh, even though the director did try to kill himself after the film's release.

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Attack of the crab monsters. 1957.

Scientists on a remote island become prey to giant intelligent crabs.

This is one that radiation has to blame, this one was decent with the actors try their best to seem like it's possible to be attacked by giant crabs even though it was done on a low budget. The cinematography was done good with the close ups and trying to make everything look big. One of Roger Corman's least talked about films before he meet the brilliant Vincent Price.

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[nicholasrope]

Hidden Tiger

Billy Blanks fight film where he's a Karate Teacher who teams up with a Japanese trainer in order to get revenge on the drugs gang who shot one of his students. They do this by entering an underground fighting tournament run by the gang's leader. Got all the usual clichés, training montages that sort of thing but that's what you want from these type of movies. Released in 1996 this was released under a previous title Balance Of Power but in the UK, it was given the title Hidden Tiger (To capitalize on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) I'd say this was the last of this type of fight film (As in they know what they are supposed to be and just get on with what we want to see) because modern straight to DVD fight films, I'd say don't contain many fight scenes just the main character going through an emotional crisis and other problems.

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story Of Cannon FilmsThis is an absolutely fascinating and massively entertaining documentary on how 2 Cousins made Cannon Films into what it was. Featuring interviews from people who were in involved with making and/or starring in films made by Cannon, it was just crazy. In fact, I bought Life Force because of this documentary and whilst I haven't seen it yet, It's on my playlist. Also I bet working in a Cinema when both Lambada movies came it on the same day was awfully fun.

Death Sentence

Kevin Bacon becomes a vigilante when a gang murder his family. I saw this at the cinema and this was the first time since and other than a couple of scenes that I remember, it was like watching it for the first time and it was an enjoyable experience. Quite bloody in places too.

Oh by the way this film is 13 years old.

[MrBarlow]

Fangs of the living dead (aka Malenka) 1969.

A young woman inherits a castle, the inhabitants, a noble man and a young women tell her of her ancestor Malenka who was killed for being a vampire.

This was a mixture of vampirism mixed with a dash of black magic in a creepy looking castle, perfect set for a old 17th Italian/Spanish horror film. The acting was good even Anita Ekberg plays the young innocent Sylvia who is told of her bloodline and must stay to to carry it on. The dubbing may seem out of place in some scenes and may be forgivable. Even though the castle is well light it doesn't give off the gothic vibe but does have it's tense moments and suspense.

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[MrBarlow]

Spasms. 1983.

A British millionaire Jason Kincaid and a American scientist Tom Brasilian form a unlikely alliance when a giant serpent from a remote island is sent to a university to be studied and breaks free.

This could have had potential with the stars of Peter Fonda and Oliver Reed as the unlikely duo, one a who spent money capturing the snake and the other a psychologist...I think, and a weird psychic link to the snake with plenty of POV shots. However the budget was low that the studio ran out of money before the film could be finished and all seemed rushed. There is quick shots of the snake as it attacks, then to the finale that doesn't make sense as the snake's head seems to be way too big for its's thin body. Cheesy 80s horror are your thing, check it out.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Another masterpiece from Peter Weir in which he coaxes great performances out of Russell Crowe and especially Paul Bettany.

Master and Commander isn't a warts and all cliche driven naval warfare film, it's a study of comradeship at sea helped by a fine support cast in particular Lee Ingleby as a seemingly Jonah hexed tragic midshipman and the unknown fifteen year old Max Pirkis as a fellow midshipman, brave beyond his tender years.

Whilst the film sports some tremendous sea battle sequences it's the humanity that Weir and the actors enliven the film with that makes it stand out, scenes on the Galapagos Islands and especially round the captains dinner table where there's some genuinely funny dialogue bring a warmth to events that usually have the viewer champing at the bit for the next sea battle. Meanwhile the last scene has you desperately clamouring for more.

It's depressing when there's something like 300 Marvel films yet no sequel to this cinematic triumph.

[Deadite]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Another masterpiece from Peter Weir in which he coaxes great performances out of Russell Crowe and especially Paul Bettany.

Master and Commander isn't a warts and all cliche driven naval warfare film, it's a study of comradeship at sea helped by a fine support cast in particular Lee Ingleby as a seemingly Jonah hexed tragic midshipman and the unknown fifteen year old Max Pirkis as a fellow midshipman, brave beyond his tender years.

Whilst the film sports some tremendous sea battle sequences it's the humanity that Weir and the actors enliven the film with that makes it stand out, scenes on the Galapagos Islands and especially round the captains dinner table where there's some genuinely funny dialogue bring a warmth to events that usually have the viewer champing at the bit for the next sea battle. Meanwhile the last scene has you desperately clamouring for more.

It's depressing when there's something like 300 Marvel films yet no sequel to this cinematic triumph.

The lesser of two weevils.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Deadite

The lesser of two weevils.

It's brilliant that one. When you haven't seen the film for years like myself, i'd forgotten that. It really cracked me up.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Crime Story (1993) ★★★★

A special agent assigned to protect a wealthy business magnate. However, when the businessman is kidnapped in a daring ambush, he teams up with a seasoned detective to crack the case. But soon he discovers the case isn’t that simple.

This is a very well constructed and extremely enjoyable Jackie Chan movie, one concentrating on corruption within the police force and a criminal organisation using kidnap to extort vast sums of money.

It is a film with a solid story, coherent narrative, fairly well developed characters, and the typically brilliant and wince inducing action sequences and stunts you'd expect from a Jackie Chan-led film from this period.

I really enjoyed the film with the Cantonese track and will watch again with the English dub to see how that stands up.

There's a very good commentary on the 88 Films Blu-ray release by Hong Kong filmmakers Arne Venema and Mike Leeder. I thoroughly recommend it to all fans of Hong Kong cinema and Jackie Chan films.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Happy Death Day (2017) ★★★½

Caught in a bizarre and terrifying time warp, college student Tree finds herself repeatedly reliving the day of her murder, ultimately realizing that she must identify the killer and the reason for her death before her chances of survival run out.

Scream + Groundhog Day = Happy Death Day

This could be my favourable Blumhouse production – it's a smart and fun high concept film with decent performances and energetic direction which stands up to a second viewing very well.

Brüno (2009) ★★½

Flamboyantly gay Austrian television reporter Bruno stirs up trouble with unsuspecting guests and large crowds through brutally frank interviews and painfully hilarious public displays of homosexuality.

Borat has aged well; this hasn't. The stereotypes which Sasha Baron Cohen's Kazak reporter uncovered are not so evident here.

Like Borat, Brüno is an offensive character, but sadly Baron Cohen doesn't manage to use the character as effectively as either Borat or Ali G when exposing the petty prejudices of the interview subjects.

I watched this again with the enhanced commentary track with Sasha Baron and Larry Charles, a very interesting device which occasionally had picture in picture footage of the two men as they spoke about the film and how it was made.

What makes this unusual is that quite often Baron Cohen would pause the film and give more information about a particular scene or that box would have behind-the-scenes footage/still photos; in this sense there was no rush to talk and they could take their time; it made the commentary more revealing and interesting watch then the film itself.

Highly recommended.

Cloud Atlas (2012) ★★★★

A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.

This is a sprawling and ambitious film by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer, one which looks and sounds amazing and confusing the hell out of me the first time I saw it. This second viewing gives it a great deal more coherence and left me wanting to watch it again. It's a film where, whatever you think of the story/stories, the AV aspects cannot be faulted.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) ★★★½

When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner’s clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover.

A solid and occasionally stylish horror movie with some fairly intense scenes, but one which is mostly forgettable. It's a film with some promise and an engaging storyline, a very good performance from Virginia Madsen, and is very watchable, though never reaches the heights of genre classics like The Haunting (1963), The Innocents (1963) and The Shining (1980).

Suffragette 2015 ★★★★

Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement who were forced underground to evade the State.

Using a composite character (Carey Mulligan) as the cipher through which the story is told, Suffragette cleverly shows the sociopolitical conditions which led many women to carry out criminal acts, from criminal damage to arson and the toll this took on their bodies, minds, and families.

When I saw it at the cinema, I was extremely impressed by the writing, the direction, the period design and the performances from the cast led by Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Wishaw, Brendan Gleeson, and a very well judged cameo from Meryl Streep as Emmeline Pankhurst.

It struck me as an important story of female suffrage and one which seemed topical in light of the Saudi Arabian decision to allow some women to vote, albeit with men driving them to the polling station, and it still seems like a very well judged story and relatable film about a turbulent and influential period of British history.