What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

The Collection. 2012.

Arkin feeling he has managed to escape, he is forced to help rescue a innocent girl from the clutches of the serial killer.

The film starts off hours after the first film, Arkin taken to hospital then handcuffed by police then when he is told a team is going to find and kill the guy he seems willing and forced to face his nightmares in a abandoned hotel and the Sh?t hits the fan...should have brought more men is what i'm thinking. There is some more new traps, tense moments seem to be a let down but the gore and acting don't fail, and karma can pay a visit, but hey the third installment "The Collected" is in post production.

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[MrBarlow]

Patient Seven. 2016.

Doctor Marcus hopes to write a new book on what makes mentally ill patients kill and selects 6 patients to interview for his research, while a 7th patient can link them together.

Another recommendation from the world of Youtube and had no idea what I was going into, when the name Michael Ironside popped up there was doubt that it may be good but also may be low budget, this was actually decent. This is like a series of anthology tales, doctor interviewing patients did remind me of the Amicus film Asylum from the 70s, the ending could have been a bit better it wasn't executed that great, but certainly worth a watch.

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[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) ★★★★½

This is a brilliant anthology film, one which contains six superb vignettes, each of which is glorious in its own right, though they are better when you see the thematic links to the others.

The titular opening story seems to be a thinly-veiled criticism of American foreign policy since 2001, featuring a pitch perfect performance from Tim Blake Nelson, some audacious black comedy, and a song ("When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings") which deserved its Oscar nomination.

From there, Near Aldogones, is a wonderfully funny absurdist story, principally a two-man (James Franco and Steven Root) piece which features some of the best photography and editing in the entire film, but also some (literally) amusing and gallows humour. Although it's not the best segment, I'm still chuckling at Steven Root running across a field, shouting out "Panshot!" whenever James Franco shoots at one of the bits of kitchenware hanging from his person.

The third vignette, Meal Ticket, is notable for a reminder of what a fine actor Liam Neeson can be and for an almost unrecognisable Harry Mellor (Dudley Dursley from the Harry Potter films) as a quadruple amputee. Mellor is wonderful as the performer, taken from place to place by a hard-drinking impresario, resulting from The Gettysburg Address, Mary Shelley's Ozymandias, and Shakespeare's The Tempest. Ultimately, it's a searing indictment of the cutthroat nature of the entertainment industry.

All Gold Canyon is, for the most part, a one-man show, with Tom Waits' aged gold prospector stumbling across an idyllic valley and sets about trying to find his fortune. It takes something special to make the laborious task of digging holes and shifting in the hope of finding gold entertaining, so huge credit to Waits (another almost unrecognisable actor. This appeared to be the Coen brothers' environmental message whilst staying on the general theme of nihilism and man's capacity for cruelty and destruction.

The fifth vignette, The Gal Who Got Rattled features some of the best photography, with the entire piece focused on a wagon train travelling across the great plains to Oregon, and one woman's dilemma when her brother's untimely death leaves him with the debt she cannot pay. Revolution Road aside, Zoe Kazan hasn't been anything I've seen and her portrayal of Alice Longabaugh, an introverted and vulnerable young woman is central to what makes this the best of the six segments. Some of the success is down to her relationship with Daly Knapp (Bill Heck, an actor of whom I was previously unaware, but who is definitely a name worth watching out for). It's a beautiful, occasionally funny, and ultimately tragic tale, one which stayed with me for a long time after the end credits had finished.

The final piece, The Mortal Remains, is the most philosophical and supernatural of the six, featuring five characters travelling to Fort Morgan, Colorado. Two of them describe themselves as ‘reapers’, a literal description, they say. The others – a chatty Frenchman, an opinionated English lady, and a Trapper without any social filter – have very differing philosophies on life and reasons to travel. This is one of my favourites because the dialogue is so brilliant, the characters’ interactions and clashes so heartfelt and often humorous that I would happily spent a few hours in their company. As for the ending, what does it mean? Who are the ‘reapers’? Who is driving the coach? These are the sorts of questions Joel and Ethan Coen raised in Barton Fink and A Serious Man, films which indicate they are more than aware of the nuances of existential philosophy.

Like those films, this is what I will watch and enjoy many more times.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Two former Doctor Who actors on screen for me last night.

Peter Capaldi co-starred as Micawber in The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019).

A whimsical take on the Charles Dickens classic with an impressive Dev Patel as Copperfield.

Despite watching a lot of Dickens adaptations over the last few years David Copperfield wasn't one of them so i have no idea how far director and writer Armando Iannucci strayed from the source material. Many Dickens traits are present - workhouses, debtors prison, the Norfolk flatlands, class struggle, rags to riches (and back to rags), eccentric characters with equally more eccentric names - so it did feel like Dickens even with the light touch. The end result was a movie that was charming and fun but not what i'd ever call laugh out loud funny.

Next up was Capaldi's predecessor in the TARDIS, Matt Smith, starring as murderous cult leader Charles Manson in Mary Harron's Charlie Says (2018).

The film documents the work of Karlene Faith with the Manson women, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten, at the California Institution for Women, in the mid-1970s.

It shows how Ms. Faith, as a young graduate student, helped the Manson women come to understand the magnitude of their crimes, and eventually renounce Charles Manson. The film of course is told from their cells in flashback.

Smith is excellent as Manson in a role that is rather risque and manages to portray his clearly intoxicating aura and personality very well. Charlie Says is an interesting film but not a film i could ever really enjoy as it's difficult to enjoy a film that's about a vile white supremacist in love with The Beatles who attempted to initiate a race war through horrific nights of murder.

[nicholasrope]

No Retreat No Surrender

When a Mob Gang forces his Karate Instructor Dad to move, he finds that the same Gang wishes to take over the local Karate School. Thanks to being trained by the spirit of Bruce Lee, he is able to take on the man who injured his Dad. Jean Claude Van Damme is the Mob Gang heavy in this Karate Kid rip-off which has a lot of over acting.

Alice In Wonderland

Tim Burton's take which sees Helena Bonham Carter give a fantastic performance as The Red Queen. Otherwise it's your typical Tim Burton Film which was made for Disney.

El Duce Tapes

Documentary chronicling the Singer of Shock Rock Band, The Mentors. Using footage filmed and interviews with people around him, it's a fascinating look at what Alcoholism and what the Underground Metal scene was like in the 90's. However I felt it could have used being trimmed as I felt that it was getting a bit repetitive. If watching with someone else, make sure that they are ok with very offensive lyrics.

Fighter

True Story of Boxer Micky Ward's story of becoming a Boxing World Champion. It features his dysfunctional relationship with his Brother and his Many Sisters as well has his domineering Mother who was more focused on his screw up Brother. Well worth a watch.

City Slickers

Billy Crystal is going through a mid-life crisis so he and his friends go on a Holiday hurding Cattle which is led by a very gruff Jack Palance. Crystal is hilarious with his sarcastic lines. Very funny film.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Good Die Young (1954)

Intriguing British noir style thriller about four men from disparate backgrounds who end up meeting over time in the local pub and constructing the idea for a heist on the post office.

An all star cast including Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker and Richard Basehart, keep the viewers attention even when the film becomes more melodrama than crime film. The intelligent script cleverly merges four plot lines into one during the final third before it all ends in a bloody shootout at Heathrow airport.

The stories are nicely juggled by top British director Lewis Gilbert and come the conclusion The Good Die Young is a satisfyingly enjoyable ride.

The BFI dual format release looks far superior to any other release i've seen of this film.

[bleakshaun]

Watches over the past **** knows how long, probably going to be more sporadic again due to work commitments
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[Dave Boy]

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MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981)

Had to sift through a load of packing boxes to find the movie.
Couldn't let yesterday go by without watching the film.
Scream Factory uncut Blu ray.. Awesome!

[MrBarlow]

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. 1972.

A theatrical troupe go to a small island and dig up a corpse and use it in a mock satanic ritual that back fires and the dead rise up.

This is one of those movies that has a very stupid plot, over the top acting that looks crap and daft dialogue yet it's still entertaining that almost becomes comical with every watch. The direction and cinematography looks very amateurish yet it still works even with the eerie island atmosphere and fog which gives it the look of "do you really want to go there"? Class ass film.

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[MrBarlow]

Hansel and Gretel. 2013.

A modern tale of the siblings who come across a house in the woods with a recluse woman who turns out to be a witch.

This did have some appeal to it that made it interesting...but I was wrong, it is different from the original story, the siblings are in their teens and not children, some good blood scenes and bones braking and Dee Wallace-Stone can almost pass as a witch. The very Bad points...this was made by Asylum movies, the gingerbread house is in fact a shop, almost imitates Sweeney Todd with the meat pies, the acting is pathetic everyone trying to outshine everyone and the use of the word "Dear" is over done to the point hearing it becomes annoying. 90 minutes of your life will be wasted.

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