What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[davcol]

Dawn of the Dead 2004
I remember being excited for this and feeling underwhelmed by the actual film. Back when it was released there was a ten minute teaser for it on Channel 4 that showed the best part of the film i.e the intro.
On the plus side there are some good if unbelievable action sequences. The downside is the dialogue. I hate overly emotional, contrived filler and I understand that this is the same director who made Army of the Dead so that makes perfect sense.
At least they tried to subvert expectations with regards to the survivors unlike Army of the Dead.

[davcol]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Look i couldn't just watch Empire with THAT ending, i had to know what happened next so Return of the Jedi it was.

As Justin alluded to earlier, the Lucas ****ing about does take something away from this film, mainly in the opening third, in fact the whole Jabba's palace act felt like it was from a different universe to what had gone before in The Empire Strikes Back, from it's extended band sequence to the burping Sarlacc pitt, it strained credibility a little.

However it really picks up during acts II and III with the space assault on the new Death Star, the battle on Endor and Luke coming face to face with the Emperor, and as usual my spine tingled as Darth Vader saved his son by killing the Emperor.

One or two sequences made me smile as usual. Luke asking Obi Wan's spirit why he never told him when he was alive that Vader was his father. Naturally Obi Wan replies with some convoluted bullshit when what he meant to say was "George had no idea his first space opera would become the global phenomenon that it did, spawning two sequels that had absolutely zero storyline at the time the first film was released".

Incidentally as i was searching for the poster to finish this post with i noticed a load of Return of the Jedi related questions on Google. Clicking on them expanded the question with an answer.... A question that appeared to have been written by a brain dead dickhead answered by another brain dead dickhead.

Why are Ewoks hated?

People hate Ewoks because people think they're ugly and have stupid stuff about them that it it is weird that they were loved when the movie first came out, now porgs have overtook them in fan-reception, people have grown to despise the Ewoks

I was a fan of these when I was a kid and for some reason Empire was the one I would repeatedly rent out. I liked the story in that one better than the other two.
I have old copies of the first three that haven't been tinkered with and these changes do nothing positive other than distract me from the story.
With regards to Return of the Jedi i love the opening act apart from boba fett falling into the pit. Don t mind the Ewok bit, the space battle isnt as good as Star Wars though.

[Justin101]

A Quiet Place (2018)

I'll be the first to admit that I can be quite sceptical about modern horror films, especially more so when the Platinum Dunes banner comes up at the beginning. However, I'm pleasantly surprised by A Quiet Place and I'm also a nervous wreck after watching it.

The plot is very simple. Presumed to be from space, Earth has been over run by some disgusting looking creatures (Lovecraftian minus the tentacles) that are blind but have excellent hearing. If you make any noise they will find you and kill/eat you. For 90 minutes we follow the Abbott family as they prepare for the arrival of a new baby. The oldest of the kids is deaf so sign language is used as device for the family to communicate without making any noise.

The tension is real, at one point I literally jumped out of my seat haha, probably because I watched the film with noise cancelling headphones and I didn't realise quite how loud I had them turned up due to the lack of dialogue

Worth watching!

[gag]

Originally Posted by Justin101

A Quiet Place (2018)

I'll be the first to admit that I can be quite sceptical about modern horror films, especially more so when the Platinum Dunes banner comes up at the beginning. However, I'm pleasantly surprised by A Quiet Place and I'm also a nervous wreck after watching it.

The plot is very simple. Presumed to be from space, Earth has been over run by some disgusting looking creatures (Lovecraftian minus the tentacles) that are blind but have excellent hearing. If you make any noise they will find you and kill/eat you. For 90 minutes we follow the Abbott family as they prepare for the arrival of a new baby. The oldest of the kids is deaf so sign language is used as device for the family to communicate without making any noise.

The tension is real, at one point I literally jumped out of my seat haha, probably because I watched the film with noise cancelling headphones and I didn't realise quite how loud I had them turned up due to the lack of dialogue

Worth watching!

I've just come back from watching 2nd one,
I won't say anything about it but go to the cinema and watch it, if you liked first one then you'll definitely enjoy the this one, it's good and a great sequel, there was only me and 2 others, the surround sound at times literally felt like something was behind you in the distance background it was very well done.

The creature and at times felt like I was watching a film version of the last of us.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by gag

the surround sound at times literally felt like something was behind you in the distance background it was very well done.

According to a Letterboxd friend it's the surround sound that makes the film. Streamed in HD it makes full use of all speakers especially in Dolby ATMOS.

@Justin - Did you watch it with speakers or via a sound bar?

I wasn't impressed when i saw it on dvd but a Blu-Ray with improved surround may make all the difference.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

According to a Letterboxd friend it's the surround sound that makes the film. Streamed in HD it makes full use of all speakers especially in Dolby ATMOS.

@Justin - Did you watch it with speakers or via a sound bar?

I wasn't impressed when i saw it on dvd but a Blu-Ray with improved surround may make all the difference.

Headphones, it's quite noisy outside today so wanted to block the sound out, glad I did, so it wasn't surround, just stereo, but the use of the quiet times is what makes it so tense, also most of the dialogue is whispered. Also, I didn't mention it up there but Emily Blunt is fantastic!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

Headphones, it's quite noisy outside today so wanted to block the sound out, glad I did, so it wasn't surround, just stereo, but the use of the quiet times is what makes it so tense, also most of the dialogue is whispered. Also, I didn't mention it up there but Emily Blunt is fantastic!

Of course, you said you watched it on headphones in your review.

My head is frazzled by tv's.

[MrBarlow]

Paperhouse. 1988.

Anna who feels lost and bored finds solace in her drawings, she draws a house and when she dreams, she finds herself at the house with a disabled boy then a darker reality looms over her.

I wouldn't say this was a horror, even though it did get labeled it when it was released, director Bernard Rose does give it a haunting touch to the film with a somewhat dark background score by Stanley Myers/Hans Zimmer. It is more drama/fantasy film about escaping reality and heading to a new found place of solitude. Charlotte Burke plays the lead character in her only film and does a great performance.

I saw this in the early 90s when it was on t.v. and Ben Cross creeped the hell out of me being Anna's father in the real world but in her dreams he was like one evil B@stard, talk about being Jekyll and Hyde, yet the film shows how much of a versatile actor he was. This is one I would recommend to watch when it's nice and peaceful with no distractions.

Paperhouse.jpg

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Strike Commando (1986, Arizal)

This I wants to see in 4K now

When Chris Mitchum's son's birthday bash goes ... off kilter, his reaction is mainly the reason that this is now my film of this year and I'm not budging.
See it and disagree, I dare you all




Ahem. Twas rather entertaining and now about to peruse Lethal Hunter from the same director, it already looks like a winner ... a new director! .... sighs .....

I'm assuming that this is The Reb Brown Movie with one scene where they were trying to be serious but comes off as rather corny and unintentionally funny (Disneyland)

Also as a Russian Baddie who shouts Americanski a lot.

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by davcol

Dawn of the Dead 2004
I remember being excited for this and feeling underwhelmed by the actual film. Back when it was released there was a ten minute teaser for it on Channel 4 that showed the best part of the film i.e the intro.
On the plus side there are some good if unbelievable action sequences. The downside is the dialogue. I hate overly emotional, contrived filler and I understand that this is the same director who made Army of the Dead so that makes perfect sense.
At least they tried to subvert expectations with regards to the survivors unlike Army of the Dead.

I must admit, I rather enjoyed this. It's what a remake/cover should be. Stays true to the original but makes changes to make it different but not completely change the overall story.