What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[davcol]

Saturday Night Fever 1977
This was on Film4 in the early hours this morning so seeing as though i hadnt seen it in 30 years and nothing was happening at work i decided to put it on. I wont bother with the plot but what stood out was the fierce sexism and racism that was part and parcel of the time i guess.
The music and choreography was great but i just got bored after a while. I didnt even care when the bloke fell off the bridge.

[davcol]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Berlin Syndrome (2017)

Teresa Palmer plays an Australian backpacker in Berlin who meets a school teacher and has a night of passion with him then realises she's trapped in his out of the way apartment and basically his captive.

An interesting piece which has a slow build up of tension along with good performances from Palmer and Max Riemelt as her captor. Unfortunately following a few grisly moments and several others that show Palmer being physically dominated it kind of peters out in a climax that's both pretty forgettable and ultimately underwhelming.

Set in what would have been East Berlin this generates the same gloomy atmosphere as Żuławski's Possession (1981)

Pet (2016) was a far more cutting edge film about male domination than this.

I caught this in the early hours a few years ago at work. The two leads were very good, the east berlin setting was interesting to me.
I enjoyed the french film Scribe more than this one.

[Demoncrat]

Meg 2: The Trench (2023, Ben Wheatley)

Hmmm. Never thought I'd look fondly back at the first one but never say never ahem ...
Bland and it takes too long to get up to speed. Humbug.

[MrBarlow]

Chernobyl: The Final Warning. 1991.

Based on the true story of Dr. Robert Gale, famed for unorthodox experimenting in Bone Marrow who travelled from America to Russia after the incident at Chernobyl and tried to help save lives.

Jon Voight takes the lead as Gale who believes his methods can save lives and finds suitable patients who aren't over exposed to radiation and meets with patient Ian McDiarmid, who was the first doctor on sire of the accident and confesses that the radiation level is higher than everyone says it is. This was a made for TV movie and although the TV series Chernobyl can be upsetting and harrowing, this one is actually decent and can some intense, emotional and great dramatic moments brought on by a great direction and acting. Certainly worth a watch.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The French Connection (1971)

I've never found William Friedkin's seminal crime thriller the easiest film to like. It's probably the documentary style of movie making, it doesn't really feel like a typical thriller. Here instead of a story developing we are pretty much thrust into a case that's already going on as we follow cops Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider in their pursuit (literally) of a French drug smuggler (Fernando Rey) on the verge of a multi million heroin deal in Brooklyn.

Hackman's 'Popeye' Doyle is very much the anti-hero of the film, ruthless in the extreme although pretty cool. " All right, Popeye's here! Get your hands on your heads, get off the bar, and get on the wall!" he announces as he barges into a Brooklyn bar whose clients all seem to be black drug users. The film is largely shot on location in Brooklyn's seedier areas which help add to the dark tone of the piece with Friedkin's urban location work some of the finest and memorable in cinema history

The nine minute chase during the final third is rightly celebrated as Doyle in a car frantically attempts to keep up with a hitman on board an elevated train. Much of it is shot in first person from the drivers seat of the car and it''s genuinely thrilling to this day. As with Bullitt (1968) no modern CGI FX fest can match it for realism.

So whilst i still don't find the film the easiest to love it's one i certainly admire and am finding it growing on me more and more.

[MrBarlow]

Right At Your Door. 2006.

After a dirty bomb goes off in downtown L.A. Brad follows the advice of staying indoors and protecting himself, but how safe is he when his wife appears at home?

This shows the state of emergency and panic by the government officials and public when a bomb goes off and a BNC protocol is initiated. Rory Cochrane plays Brad who ventures out and heads back home creating a safety bubble in his own home and Mary McCormack plays the wife looking for safety in her own home.

The film does show what could have been a safety measure that can leave you thinking on what should be a safe heaven/sanctuary can become a death trap. The acting is decent but one gripe is the writing/direction, some bits can be dragging on in bits and can make the film go south then back on track.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Visa to Canton (1960)

An unremarkable Hammer thriller about a reluctant former WWII pilot now running a travel agency in China who becomes embroiled in a Cold War game of cat and mouse in regard to rescuing a girl (Lisa Gastoni) from the clutches of Communist Chinese officials.

Despite a hugely likable performance from Richard Basehart as the reluctant hero this is formulaic to the point of becoming slightly boring. Some well thought out stock footage gives the impression this was actually filmed in China rather than Bray Studios and the sets do the film proud but i'm struggling to say anything interesting regarding the rest of this film.

Visa to Canton was filmed back to back with the hugely enjoyable Terror of the Tongs. Go watch that instead.

[MrBarlow]

Bloodbath At The House Of Death. 1984.

6 scientists lead by Kenny Everett investigate strange phenomena at at manor house where 18 were killed years before.

The film is a Hammer horror spoof, though many other films and genres are spoofed along the way. It is written by Barry Cryer, dark gothic atmosphere shot of the house and we are introduced to someone watching from the heges then the killings start in a comical way.

Vincent Price plays the sinister man, as listed in the credits and has only a small appearance but brings some good comedy which is unintentional for his character. Pamela Stephenson plays the screaming assistant who seems to be the butt of some jokes in the house. This one can be a hit or miss with some but for me its a hoot.

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[Demoncrat]

Shatter (1974, Michael Carreras)

Stuart Whitman in HK? Easily the oddest Hammer film since Love Thy Neighbour, a hitman is left high and dry when he finds out he's been sold a dummy ahem. Reasonable enough, though getting Hammer cameramen to shoot kung fu might have been a mistake ahem.
An oddity. Peter Cushing turns up as he obviously fancied a holiday ahem. Did like the theme tune for all that ....

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Altitude (2011)

An enjoyable tale of five young people trapped on a private plane at 20,000 feet.

Despite being populated by typical stereotypes - the comic book geek, the bad tempered jock type, the mild mannered girl you know will save the day, none of this seemed to matter even if some of the stereotypes ran the gamut from likable to f*cking irritating and often in the same scene.

For a film set in the confines of a small plane it's remarkably well filmed with some impressive camera work not to mention some good CGI of the plane in flight.

The film has some fine sequences of tension, but has some daft set pieces which for some reason work for me. The more ludicrous the situation the more enjoyment i gained from it. Second time of watching last night and i'd totally forgotten the unexpected finale which worked very well.

All told Altitude is a flawed but largely very good example of what you can do with confined low budget horror.