What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[gag]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

The House Of The Devil. 2009.

Jocelin Donahue plays Samantha a struggling college lass in 1983 accepts a job as a babysitter for Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov who tell her she isn't babysitting a child but his mother in law while they go and observe the eclipse. All going well till Samantha realises something is off.

Ti West does a throw back to a 80s film, having Dee Wallace in a horror even for a cameo is worth something and have Tom Noonan appear is a throwback as he was a bit of a big star in the 80s and 90s. I'm sure some would think having 400 quid thrown your way for one nights work would be a big thing.

Isolation and atmosphere in one house always work and you never know what will happen as we wait for something to happen and doesn't but then we get something of a small reveal happening, then a bit of a big reveal then the finale that comes with a good twist about the elderly couple and their homicidal trigger finger happy son, then boom goes the dynamite with another twist. I never gave this film much recognition and didn't quite make it to the end the first time watching this and now, i loved it.

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I find a lot of slow burners better than a lot of films these days, because they concentrate on tension, atmosphere, build up and then bam. Something a lot of films don't seem to do.. They get the formula so wrong, sometimes they're more gripping if done right than a film with wall to wall action and violence.

[MrBarlow]

The Devil's Backbone. 2001.

Second Guillermo del Toro movie this week and this one takes a bit of a darker turn as orphanages can be a nightmare, this setting is certainly a nightmare for a 12 year old who is bullied and hears a sinister voice and sees a ghost while the walls hide a dark secret.

Set in 1939 either during or after the Spanish civil war with a deactivated bomb on the grounds is enough to give out some tension but set in a isolated atmospheric building with a ghost inside is certainly enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. Federico Luppi as Dr. Casares is superb, providing us with a true hero, a gentleman of class and compassion that he wants to be a father/protector to the children and even those playing the boys, their acting is amazing to watch even the bullies not accepting the new arrival to then accepting him. This doesn't come across as a horror but more supernatural thriller but certainly mixed with a good background score makes it creepy. One I thought I'd never enjoy but I was wrong.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

A far superior outing to Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007), this standalone fourth film sees the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) team up with Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) in a bid to find the mythical Fountain of Youth before a certain Edward Teach (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz).

The first half hour set in London is a hoot as Jack attempts to save his first mate Gibbs (Kevin McNally) from the noose. The action comes thick and fast and there's a priceless scene with Judi Dench and a nearly as funny one with Captain Teague (Keith Richards) who tells Sparrow "Do i look like i've found the Fountain of Youth?"

As the quest begins things settle into the usual pirate antics with betrayals and so forth. It's nothing new but a hell of a lot less convoluted than before. McShane is fun as Blackbeard and a welcome addition, with Cruz easily outshining the annoying Keira Knightly. Meanwhile the set pieces are handled better including an attack by mermaids. The whole film feels more streamlined and focused and way less bloated.

Having said that it's never going to convert those who hated the films in the first place (Say Hi, Mark Kermode) but it is a return to better form from the last installments.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)



A far superior outing to Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007), this standalone fourth film sees the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) team up with Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) in a bid to find the mythical Fountain of Youth before a certain Edward Teach (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz).



The first half hour set in London is a hoot as Jack attempts to save his first mate Gibbs (Kevin McNally) from the noose. The action comes thick and fast and there's a priceless scene with Judi Dench and a nearly as funny one with Captain Teague (Keith Richards) who tells Sparrow "Do i look like i've found the Fountain of Youth?"



As the quest begins things settle into the usual pirate antics with betrayals and so forth. It's nothing new but a hell of a lot less convoluted than before. McShane is fun as Blackbeard and a welcome addition, with Cruz easily outshining the annoying Keira Knightly. Meanwhile the set pieces are handled better including an attack by mermaids. The whole film feels more streamlined and focused and way less bloated.



Having said that it's never going to convert those who hated the films in the first place (Say Hi, Mark Kermode) but it is a return to better form from the last installments.

Really surprised me with that review Dem. I've only watched Tides the once and don't recall a single thing to go back to. It wasn't in the same league as the first three for me.

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[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

A far superior outing to Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007), this standalone fourth film sees the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) team up with Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) in a bid to find the mythical Fountain of Youth before a certain Edward Teach (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz).

Having said that it's never going to convert those who hated the films in the first place (Say Hi, Mark Kermode) but it is a return to better form from the last installments.

Mark Kermode didn't go off on a rant about On Stranger Tides, certainly nothing epic like his fury and bemusement about At World's End; he more talked about the lack of a story (just a series of unconnected events) and the unnecessary 3D aspect.

Something else he pointed out was that the first films were about the legend of Jack Sparrow, somebody who isn't a great pirate, just someone who gets by on his reputation and charisma. In this, he is apparently swashbuckling and extremely competent at pirate things – he's become the thing he is not supposed to be, the main joke of the first films.

"Pirates of the Caribbean 3 was especially rubbish, a film that began with child hanging and went down in its misjudgement from there"

"It's not something that's worth getting furious about. Certainly, it's not as staggeringly misjudged as the third part because it is just nothing. It is just a big empty nothing whereas part three I think was an active atrocity – it's just nothing at all."

[J Harker]

Am I the only one who can't stand Mark Kermode? An abhorrent critic who puts himself on high and deems to tell me what I should think as opposed to what he thought.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Am I the only one who can't stand Mark Kermode? An abhorrent critic who puts himself on high and deems to tell me what I should think as opposed to what he thought.

I used to like listening to him on a Friday afternoon with Simon Mayo but he almost became a caricature of himself the more famous he became.

Now since he left 5Live i've not listened to him at all.

[Demoncrat]

The Menu (2023, Mark Mylod)

Haven't enjoyed a modern film as much in ages.
Though ... I'll just have the chips please
Would make a great double bill with The Hunt imho.
Recommended.

[Demoncrat]

Meth Gator

And that's the last of these that I'll watch
A Jaws style caper that really tested my patience tbh.
The CGI animal was the cherry on top of this rancid cake.
Avoid

[gag]

Abrakadabra, i’d never heard of this and come across it in Amazon prime,

About a magician who was killed on stage, years later his son follows his late father footsteps,
He a gambler, smoker and alcoholic which are part of his downfall,
but before his opening night there was a dead body found, soon the bodies started pilling up with someone wanting to pinpoint the blame on him, but why? everything about this is done perfectly in old fashioned Gallio style, tone of the film, colour, music, you could easily be forgiven thinking it was an early 70s lesser known Argento film, the film is only short around 1hr 10min, but it's plenty of deaths and body counts, but they're kept basic and simply without relying on much violence or gore.

Totally recommended..