What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

This was the first time seeing this I can't compare it to any other release, for me personally it was a great viewing on a Blu-ray release.

Good stuff. When it's 3 for £15 in the next Indicator sale i'll pick it up.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Little Deaths (2011)

Little Deaths is a three story British horror anthology with a running theme of sex and death.

The first story House and Home, concerns a YUPPIE couple who invite a homeless girl into their home where both parties end up with more than they bargained for. This was a decent opening half hour to the film let down by some poor acting by the couple and a homeless girl who when seen naked had the scars of at least two boob jobs. Perhaps they cost that much she ended up homeless? Anyway the film redeems itself in it's final moments, showcasing some excellent strong gore effects ultimately providing us with an enjoyable pay off.

Story two Mutant Tool is by far the best of the three. A plot featuring prostitutes, Nazi experiments, and mind altering drugs produced by a mutant human jizz cow. Nicely acted, rather gross and with a well written story, Mutant Tool would have made a very good full length feature.

The final act - Bitch - is quite boring. It's storyline about a guy in an abusive relationship where his girlfriend dominates him with BDSM activities forcing him to act like a dog before pegging him. You can see the ending from a long way off making this a disappointing final third.

All in all Little Deaths is merely ok with one segment head and shoulders above the others. I'd still recommend the film though as it's certainly different to much of today's horror output and definitely achieves it's theme of sex and death.

[Demoncrat]

Renfield (2023, Chris McKay)

Cage is the best thing in this farrago tbh.
That and the Universal footage used to establish their characters.
90 minutes, and it dragged. The plot is a lot of therapy speak, only brightened by Cage's performance, which isn't as hammy as you would expect.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Over the last few months, reviews from various quarters have popped up on the Labs for that 'Friday The 13th Parts 1-8' boxset, so when I saw it going cheap I thought "what the heck, haven't seen 'em in yonks." So last Sunday / Mon I binged all of them back to back, only taking a breather overnight. I was actually quite impressed that I still had it in me to watch that many in a row. Anyway, all that aside, allow me to produce the results of my investigation, beginning with:

FRIDAY THE 13TH – The start of it all. After decades of gimmickry and one-upmanship, many of the first wave slashers seem nondescript these days; it’s hard to imagine a time when all you needed was a few traumatised college kids and an anniversary. ‘Friday The 13th’ is as bare-bones as they come, but what impresses now is the dead straightness. This is from before all the weird detours and played-for-laughs that arrived later in the series, just a very basic horror story with its heart clearly in the darkness of the previous decade’s grindhouse. Aside from the “You’re all doomed” guy, there’s very little to laugh at. The accent is on dread, not cheese. Young Americans get slaughtered like it’s not funny. Even if it takes a while, even if the kills are not high grand guignol (sorry Tom, not these days), even if it all feels a bit flimsy and we’ve seen some of its peers do it better, there’s still the shift in atmosphere that comes with the second half. The rainswept / blustery / storm lashed finale seems as if it might have been a staple of the series as a whole, but this must be its most claustrophobic instantiation. There’s a feeling of something closing in, of the inevitability of death, the inescapable annihilating presence. “You’re all doomed,” after all. Dread, not cheese. Betsy Palmer is terrifying, flashing those teeth. There’s the brilliance of that final shock. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the series when it hits peak silliness. But there’s something to be said for deadly serious. I still find the shot of Adrienne King’s face as it fades out into the lake at the end eerie in a way I can’t really explain.

Friday The 13th Part 2 – This is not my favourite sequel. I’ll give it, or Steve Miner, credit for a certain wit, and for crafting a few sequences and images that hit me in a certain way… the mummified head that sits surrounded by candles atop its flickering shrine, for example. That one always revs me up. “Why can’t the rest of the film be as good?” I ask myself, pointlessly. Because the meat of it is more of a competent run-through than the inspired shockfest I wanted. It’s a victim of its time more than anything. The first one had been a success, the audience wanted more product, but even though the slasher boom had peaked, the formula had not yet escaped its own critical mass. This one feels a bit like everything else on the market from around the time. Jason needed a gimmick – he’d get a few of those, fast, but here he’s just a murderous guy. Even the one from ‘The Final Exam’ had a green coat. I’m being unfair, we do get to see him in a ‘Dark Night Of The Scarecrow’ rip-off bag and we catch a glimpse of freakface. None of this would matter that much if it didn’t take so long to get going. Like the first, it’s serious, but adds ponderousness to the equation. Bad move. I like slow, I like atmosphere, but ‘Part 2’ needed something heavier than it offers. Shame really. For me, it's the least of the lot. And it’s not bad, in some ways it’s quite satisfying, but it’s just average. My opinion might be marginal as some hold this one in higher regard than the original. The strange thing about ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ is that, particularly in the case of ‘Part 2’, they’re such typical slashers that they’re the least typical ‘Fridays’.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Over the last few months, reviews from various quarters have popped up on the Labs for that 'Friday The 13th Parts 1-8' boxset, so when I saw it going cheap I thought "what the heck, haven't seen 'em in yonks." So last Sunday / Mon I binged all of them back to back, only taking a breather overnight. I was actually quite impressed that I still had it in me to watch that many in a row. Anyway, all that aside, allow me to produce the results of my investigation, beginning with:



FRIDAY THE 13TH – The start of it all. After decades of gimmickry and one-upmanship, many of the first wave slashers seem nondescript these days; it’s hard to imagine a time when all you needed was a few traumatised college kids and an anniversary. ‘Friday The 13th’ is as bare-bones as they come, but what impresses now is the dead straightness. This is from before all the weird detours and played-for-laughs that arrived later in the series, just a very basic horror story with its heart clearly in the darkness of the previous decade’s grindhouse. Aside from the “You’re all doomed” guy, there’s very little to laugh at. The accent is on dread, not cheese. Young Americans get slaughtered like it’s not funny. Even if it takes a while, even if the kills are not high grand guignol (sorry Tom, not these days), even if it all feels a bit flimsy and we’ve seen some of its peers do it better, there’s still the shift in atmosphere that comes with the second half. The rainswept / blustery / storm lashed finale seems as if it might have been a staple of the series as a whole, but this must be its most claustrophobic instantiation. There’s a feeling of something closing in, of the inevitability of death, the inescapable annihilating presence. “You’re all doomed,” after all. Dread, not cheese. Betsy Palmer is terrifying, flashing those teeth. There’s the brilliance of that final shock. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the series when it hits peak silliness. But there’s something to be said for deadly serious. I still find the shot of Adrienne King’s face as it fades out into the lake at the end eerie in a way I can’t really explain.



Friday The 13th Part 2 – This is not my favourite sequel. I’ll give it, or Steve Miner, credit for a certain wit, and for crafting a few sequences and images that hit me in a certain way… the mummified head that sits surrounded by candles atop its flickering shrine, for example. That one always revs me up. “Why can’t the rest of the film be as good?” I ask myself, pointlessly. Because the meat of it is more of a competent run-through than the inspired shockfest I wanted. It’s a victim of its time more than anything. The first one had been a success, the audience wanted more product, but even though the slasher boom had peaked, the formula had not yet escaped its own critical mass. This one feels a bit like everything else on the market from around the time. Jason needed a gimmick – he’d get a few of those, fast, but here he’s just a murderous guy. Even the one from ‘The Final Exam’ had a green coat. I’m being unfair, we do get to see him in a ‘Dark Night Of The Scarecrow’ rip-off bag and we catch a glimpse of freakface. None of this would matter that much if it didn’t take so long to get going. Like the first, it’s serious, but adds ponderousness to the equation. Bad move. I like slow, I like atmosphere, but ‘Part 2’ needed something heavier than it offers. Shame really. For me, it's the least of the lot. And it’s not bad, in some ways it’s quite satisfying, but it’s just average. My opinion might be marginal as some hold this one in higher regard than the original. The strange thing about ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ is that, particularly in the case of ‘Part 2’, they’re such typical slashers that they’re the least typical ‘Fridays’.

Always enjoy reading your reviews Frankie, but it's particularly nice to read your thoughts on something I've heard of and watched relatively recently. I thoroughly agree with your thoughts on the first film, personally I enjoyed the second almost as much. You mention that it was made simply to give fans of the first one more of the same. That's exactly what I wanted and got so for me it was win win. The third one I wasn't so keen on. That felt like filler trying to take advantage of the early 80s 3-D gimmick. I've only made it up to part IV so far but I look forward to your thoughts on them all.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Always enjoy reading your reviews Frankie, but it's particularly nice to read your thoughts on something I've heard of and watched relatively recently. I thoroughly agree with your thoughts on the first film, personally I enjoyed the second almost as much. You mention that it was made simply to give fans of the first one more of the same. That's exactly what I wanted and got so for me it was win win. The third one I wasn't so keen on. That felt like filler trying to take advantage of the early 80s 3-D gimmick. I've only made it up to part IV so far but I look forward to your thoughts on them all.

Thanks for the kind words Mr Harker, your own write-ups have certainly been a pleasure recently. Shame I couldn't get more out of Part 2, but I've never been all that hot on it. As for Part 3, I think we'll diverge again because all those ridiculous excuses for 3D they go for never fail to tickle me - "look, we've stopped the film to do some narratively pointless juggling just cos it might look cool through special glasses" etc - anyway, I'll save all that for tomorrow's installment.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Thanks for the kind words Mr Harker, your own write-ups have certainly been a pleasure recently. Shame I couldn't get more out of Part 2, but I've never been all that hot on it. As for Part 3, I think we'll diverge again because all those ridiculous excuses for 3D they go for never fail to tickle me - "look, we've stopped the film to do some narratively pointless juggling just cos it might look cool through special glasses" etc - anyway, I'll save all that for tomorrow's installment.

I look forward to it.

[nicholasrope]

God Of Gamblers

Chow Yun Fat is the greatest Gambler around however after an accident caused by Andy Lau, he ends up childlike and ends up being looked after and used by Lau, his friend & girlfriend. However, he still has his gambling skills and seeing as they are Gamblers too, they use him.

Whilst a little too long for my liking, it is an enjoyable Film with some great Action Scenes (The construction scene) and some humor as well (Keeps on banging his head)

That song was annoying though (Sounded like Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Mix of Live Action and Animation which sees a Cartoon get framed for Murder and Private Eye played by Bob Hoskins helps him prove his innocence. Certainly an interesting concept and there were some excellent cameos involving Dumbo, Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. I didn't mind it but didn't love it.

I do wonder why Disney released this under the Touchstone Banner but I'm guessing that back in 1989, characters like Jessica Rabbit didn't fit the Disney Label.

Alien Intruder

A P/M Entertainment Film but instead of their usual Martial Art type Film, they went with a Sci-Fi/Space theme. Set in the then futuristic 2022, 4 Prisoners are sent into Space to retrieve a Spaceship who's crew killed each other. Over the weekends, they are put in Suspended Animation in which their fantasies are realized. However a Female Alien/A.I infiltrates their fantasies and turns them against each other. Billy Dee Williams is the major star in this Film.

I saw the Trailer on a few VHS Rentals back in 93-94 and I eventually found the DVD (In a Prism Box Set) and today I eventually watched it. P/M are really good at explosions, car chases, crashes and shootouts but they aren't good at Sci-Fi F/X (Even by 93 standards) and TBH this wasn't their greatest effort, whilst I appreciate that they tried something new but they should have stuck to the areas they are good at.

[J Harker]

Ironheart. Robert Clouse. 1992.

L.A. cop John Keem travels up to Portland when his former partner is murdered. Upon investigating Keem uncovers a missings persons case connected to a black market arms dealer posing as a shipping magnate.

One of the many early 90s martial arts thrillers that seemed to flood the market around that time, this is a lower tier actioner starring Britton K.Lee, an actor I've never heard of as L.A. cop and convenient martial arts expert John Keem. The film is marketed off the back of Bolo Yueng's name, being he's a far better known martial arts star. Whether this one ever saw a cinema release I don't know but it does have the somewhat underplayed merit of being helmed by Enter the Dragon director Robert Clouse. In fact it appears to have been his last film before his death.
I rather enjoyed this admittedly easy watch. The second half does become more amateurish and absurd but by then I was invested enough not to care. Clouse cleverly makes all his villains sneering pantomime ultra evil types so the one dimensional John Keem automatically becomes a more likeable lead.
It's a great shame 101's blu ray features such an awful audio presentation with dreadful background hiss all the way through.
Still an entertaining enough watch for when you just fancy some simple early 90s kickarsery.

[trebor8273]

Easily the best thing Marvel have done in many a year, when Rocket is injured his friends set out to save him , which sets a collision course with his past and the insane and totally unlikable High Evolutionary. What you come to expect from a guardians film , lots of humour , a great soundtrack and a fun time, the guardians film have always been my favourite , think it's too do with how fun they are and unlike a lot of marvel films especially the later ones , no beating you across the head with agenda's.

As much as enjoyed it , I think it's the time they should give it a rest for a couple of years , people are suffering from superhero fatigue which is probably true if the showing i went to see is anything to go by, the cinema was quite empty but when I saw Evil dead rise that was busy even though both Fridays at roughly same times.