What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Black Swan (2010)

Darren Aronofsky's quite brilliant study of innocence, fragility and psychological breakdown. Disturbing and occasionally creepy, breathtaking and brutal. Brilliantly held together with a tremendous performance from Natalie Portman as a young ballet dancer overtaken by madness in her desperation to play the white swan in the classic ballet Swan lake, with excellent support from the ever reliable Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis.

The film features sumptuous cinematography and a beautiful score which envelops you before overwhelming you during Portman's breathtaking swansong finale.

Finally a word of warning. This film contains several sequences of strong ballet

[Dave Boy]

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JUDGE DREDD (1995)

First screen outing for Judge Dredd is a bit of a mixed bag but it's entertaining and fun.
I love the look of Mega City One and the wall. The hall Of Justice looks pretty awesome. The Angel Family look great, the ABC Robot looks superb and the Block War at the start of the movie is straight out of the comic.
The Bikes look good but the addition of flight is just for cinematic excitement and Dredd taking his helmet off.. well?
I've seen the movie so many times the glitches don't really bother me anymore it's just a case of what could have been for this this first movie outing. I think that they got more things right than wrong when I look back on it.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Hotel (2004)

A girl takes a job at a hotel deep in the Austrian Alps. Once there she discovers the girl she replaced left her job and vanished without a trace.

Hotel is one of those films you really have to be in the right frame of mind for. It's beautifully filmed and directed by the highly regarded Jessica Hausner but is so minimalistic in it's approach to drama that i can easily imagine some finding it nothing short of boring.

Long scenes go by without a word spoken, there is no incidental music, in fact the only music throughout comes from a stereo in the hotel staff room. The photography is precise and often static which creates a beautiful ambience and a growing feeling of unease especially when Hausner leaves her camera on the edge of the night time forest and we stare into the murky shadows, our eyes squinting for a flicker of movement in the blackness.

The story hints throughout that there may be a malevolent presence in the forest. That of a 'forest witch' and tales of hikers going missing, indeed it gives the biggest hint that the legend has much to do with the disappearance of the former employee but nothing is conclusive. The film's final scenes also hint at this yet the ending is so ambiguous that we have to make up our own minds. Hausner asks the questions but never gives us a definitive answer.

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by davcol

All i heard about it was that it is a "QAnon" film and is controversial. It turns out that other than Jim Caviezels real life views the film has nothing to do QAnon. Strange times we live in where if you dont like an actors belief you should boycot their projects.

I think that it was to with the extremists using the film as a rallying cry that's caused the controversy.

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by Dave Boy

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JUDGE DREDD (1995)

First screen outing for Judge Dredd is a bit of a mixed bag but it's entertaining and fun.
I love the look of Mega City One and the wall. The hall Of Justice looks pretty awesome. The Angel Family look great, the ABC Robot looks superb and the Block War at the start of the movie is straight out of the comic.
The Bikes look good but the addition of flight is just for cinematic excitement and Dredd taking his helmet off.. well?
I've seen the movie so many times the glitches don't really bother me anymore it's just a case of what could have been for this this first movie outing. I think that they got more things right than wrong when I look back on it.

As someone who never read the Comics, I found it to be thoroughly entertaining.

Not knowing the differences certainly helped.

[gag]

Originally Posted by nicholasrope

As someone who never read the Comics, I found it to be thoroughly entertaining.

Not knowing the differences certainly helped.

I’m the same I enjoyed it for what is was, I think don’t think it deserves the criticisms it gets.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Black Swan (2010)

I haven’t watched this since the cinema so I think it’s time to give it another watch!

[nicholasrope]

A Haunting In Venice

Kenneth Brannagh is back as Hercule Poirot and is happily retired in Venice but has a queue outside his residence (His Bodyguard is quite funny in the opening sequence) but when a Author played by Tina Fey tempts him into investigating a mysterious death which has hauntings and during a Séance, other happenings occur.

TBH, I wasn't expecting much from this one but I gave it a go and it's actually not all that bad, it certainly kept my attention. Apparently this one is flopping and it's quite similar to the Narnia Movies, everybody was interested by the 1st Movie in the series but not the others.

Runaway

1984 Movie set in the future where Robots can get out of control and it's up to section of the Police Department to deal with them. Tom Selleck investigates a series of Murders which leads to a rather sinister looking Gene Simmons. Kirstie Alley has a small role as well as G.W. Bailey (Who I always see as Captain Harris) and Cynthia Rhodes. An entertaining watch.

TC2000

Set in the future where the elite live underground and the less well off are left to live above ground, Billy Blanks is part of the Security Force that protects the underground residents from gangs wanting to take over. When his partner is killed and turned into a Cyborg, he has to stop the destruction of above ground. Bolo Yeung and Matthias Hues co-star in a Film which is my sort of Film but wasn't executed as well as others I've seen.

Razor Eaters

A Gang gains fame and notoriety by torturing and killing as well as filming their crimes. A Detective with an agenda tries to stop them. Based loosely on an actual gang, this is much better than it had a right to be. What judging by the DVD cover what looked liked a cheap and nasty Film turned into a well acted, decent F/X pleasant surprise.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I haven’t watched this since the cinema so I think it’s time to give it another watch!

One of the cooler Poundland purchases from a couple of years ago.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Black Swan (2010)

I saw Black Swan at the cinema and thought it was brilliant: a superbly acted and stylishly directed film which was an intense viewing experience.

I have watched it a couple of times at home since then and was pleased that it stands up to repeated viewings, though neither come close to the cinema experience.

That said, I don't think I've watched it since buying a bigger TV and upgrading my sound system, so another viewing is overdue.