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DEAD MAN’S SHOES – Late nineties / early noughties indie darling Shane Meadows was not known for his genre outings, but ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ pushes through into horror territory. It takes the basic form of the revenger and feeds it into Meadow’s usual small-town seediness, but there are almost shades of slasherdom when Considine gets his mask on. It’s about an ex-army guy who comes home to punish the ones present when his disabled brother was tortured and humiliated. The first half is lighter, with bickering dealers and Meadows’ familiar kitchen sink pithiness offsetting the gathering clouds, although everywhere is the shadowy vibe of the provincial underbelly, smoky interiors on mildewy estates, crossbow in the laundry room etc. Violence, already surging in black and white flashbacks that reminded me of ‘Martin’ (sort of), finally erupts during an epic drug trip sequence that always makes me squirm. Along the way, Meadows’ loose, semi-improvised style is choppy but hypnotic. Excellent film that never loses its punch. I saw it when it came out, and that makes me feel old.
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I've really grown to enjoy this, so much so that i bought the limited edition Blu-ray from Indicator when it came out earlier this year. I'm not saying it's any good just that i've come to appreciate it. |
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This was my first Meadows's film, and still my favourite. I bought it on DVD after joining college, based on a four star review in Empire magazine, thinking it would be a solid revenge piece. It destroyed me. I have an autistic younger brother, and the themes just struck me, and terrified me. I was so angry and heartbroken while watching it. Meadows is now one of my favourite filmmakers. And although his craft has improved since, Dead Man's Shoes is still the one that haunts me.
__________________ "We're outgunned, and undermanned. But, you know somethin'? We're gonna win. You know why? Superior attitude. Superior state of mind." |
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CRIMES OF THE FUTURE FUBKwSOX0AA5wiF.jpg Went to see this at the cinema last night, noticed it finally arrived locally so was right on it, never seen a Cronenberg film at the cinema and never thought he'd go back to his roots after his recent films, so was hyped for this. I really enjoyed it, if enjoyed is the word for a film featuring the murder and autopsy of a young kid, tattooed internal organs, mutant body parts and sexy surgery. It's kind of a Cronenberg compendium, mixing in so many of his subjects from his early sci-fi horror output, mutated organs, inanimate objects that are organic hybrids, surgery, tv screens and media manipulation, and underground organisations. crimes-of-the-future.jpeg It's a slow moving, well acted, meditative piece that is heavy with intelligent dialogue and philosophical ideas, there's a lot of talk but i found it involving and fascinating. like a lot of Cronenberg films it moves at a slow steady pace building up atmosphere and mood. I read some other peoples reviews when i got home and was digesting the film, norms seem to comment that it is building up to not much pay off, but that is the nature of a lot of Cronenberg films, like Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers, leaving us on a ponderous moment that leaves us thinking, rather than the excesses of Shivers, Scanners or the gun violence of Videodrome. Indeed considering the plunge headfirst into the body that Crimes of the Future is there is hardly any actual splatter, Cronenberg views the body as complex, beautiful and fascinating but also disturbing. Decay and pain is a big focus of the film with pain being almost a thing of the past, except for Viggo's character who uses the aforementioned Cronenbergian devices for pain relief. merlin_207641478_2099f2f4-01bd-4b26-80e6-98a68ee714eb-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg Anyway there you go, I thought it was really good, and there's a fair bit of nudity thrown in which shows along with the subject matter that DC is still not afraid to bare his soul, it's just as f***ed up as Crash or Videodrome, the only thing that's changed are the censors and general public as it's just as controversial. Easily my favourite film of his since Existenz. 8/10
__________________ MIKE: I've got it! Peter Cushing! We've got to drive a stake through his heart! VYVYAN: Great! I'll get the car! NEIL: I'll get a cushion. Last edited by nosferatu42; 19th September 2022 at 01:58 PM. |
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I look forward to seeing Crimes of the Future, nosferatu. Pleased it's finally arrived in UK cinemas. Means it's disc release won't be long. Interesting that it's the first Cronenberg film you saw at the cinema. The only one i saw was Crash. |
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Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) Richard Greene reprises his role from the fifties tv serial as the legendary Robin Hood in this terrific Hammer film. Peter Cushing is excellent as the nefarious Sheriff of Nottingham who plots to land grab from those killed in the Crusades. When the Archbishop of Canterbury hears of this he vows to stop the Sheriff. Meanwhile Robin is tasked by the Earl of Newark (A devious Richard Pascoe) to assassinate a trouble maker, unbeknown to Robin it's the Archbishop. Directed by the great Terence Fisher this swashbuckler zips along at a tremendous pace. The plot is cleverly simple but works really well and i was totally engaged by it throughout. I was even surprised, shocked even by some events towards the end of the film as they were genuinely unexpected. Meanwhile Pascoe's challenges for Robin at archery are great fun. Greene is totally at ease as Robin Hood, well he should be as it's his signature role whilst Cushing makes for a very hands on Sheriff of Nottingham. The cast is made up of Hammer faves and there are even a couple of uncredited familiar faces who turn up that made me nod in approval. Anyone who enjoys their period swashbucklers (Devil Ship Pirates, Pirates of Blood River and so on) could do a lot worse than picking up the beautiful Robin Hood at Hammer box set just released by Indicator. The picture quality on this film is gorgeous. You won't be disappointed. |
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