What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

Fear And Desire. 1952.

Everyone starts off not so great at times with a directorial debut Stanley Kubrick gave us a melodrama/war movie about four soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and confronting their fears of being in a different land possibly surrounded by the enemy and the desires with some local native women.

Kubrick became one successful film maker and created memorable films and also a nightmare to work with, but this debut does feel very amateurish, very low budget and seems to be filmed in one location with the set pieces moved around to make it look more open. The acting is not very great due to the script being poor and lacking any entertainment value or actually keeping you engrossed.

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[SymbioticFunction]

Apologies to fans of it but I have a strong dislike for Giallo. The decision to also use Adrien Brody as the villain is an absolute film killer. It just can't recover from it. It amazes me that none of the makers realised that it simply wasn't going to work.

Apart from the fact that the appearance genuinely resembles a Bo Selecta character, the Brody villain performance is similarly dreadful. When it was screened at London's Fright Fest, the audience was in absolute hysterics whenever they saw him.

The film would have been massively improved by hiring a different actor to play that role. When the Brody villain is in the apartment towards the end, slapping on white make-up whilst smiling, I feel genuinely embarrassed.

My understanding is that Dario Argento has publicly disowned this film because the dodgy US producers locked him out of the editing process. But I'm not convinced that any amount of editing could save this film.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Giallo (2009)

I honestly don't have the dislike for this film that others have. Yes, it's nowhere near as good as Dario Argento's directorial canon up as far as 1987's Opera but on the whole it isn't a bad little horror thriller.

At times the film is deliriously seedy and borders on torture porn, but performances - even though the killer's voice kept making me think of Papa Lazarou from The League of Gentlemen and his "You're my wife now" catch phrase - are fine with Adrien Brody and Emmanuelle Seigner always worth your attention. Meanwhile one or two of the set pieces are quite gripping.

Argento is nowhere near as creative as he used to be with his directorial flourishes and roaming camera work, but is this criticism necessary or would the film also be panned if he'd used well worn tracking shots from the past? Yet having said that, Giallo is still a nicely photographed film with impressive Rome location work and features some interesting on car camerawork.

I can accept the film isn't inspired in comparison to Dario's past movies, nor does it have a memorable score, so unmemorable i can't even remember it the day after, but viewed in the cold light of day as a Rome set serial killer thriller, a modern take on the seventies Giallo film, i'd opt for this over copycats like Amer The Editor or The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears any day of the week.

You've been a roll!

Not seen this or Hitchcock, not really been actively avoiding them but unless you seek out an import they're not easy to come by. I am interested though. These 2, Phantom and Dark Glasses are still outstanding watches for me.

In the post Opera era I've enjoyed Trauma, Sleepless and The Card Player, I thought Dracula was OK though and I hated Stendhal. I like Mother of Tears as well!

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Justin101

You've been a roll!

Not seen this or Hitchcock, not really been actively avoiding them but unless you seek out an import they're not easy to come by. I am interested though. These 2, Phantom and Dark Glasses are still outstanding watches for me.

In the post Opera era I've enjoyed Trauma, Sleepless and The Card Player, I thought Dracula was OK though and I hated Stendhal. I like Mother of Tears as well!

I'm in the majority of loving Opera, Tenebre and Sleepless, The Card Player and Dracula was never daft on along with The Stendahl Syndrome and hated Mother Of Tears.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by SymbioticFunction

Apologies to fans of it but I have a strong dislike for Giallo. The decision to also use Adrien Brody as the villain is an absolute film killer. It just can't recover from it. It amazes me that none of the makers realised that it simply wasn't going to work.

Apart from the fact that the appearance genuinely resembles a Bo Selecta character, the Brody villain performance is similarly dreadful. When it was screened at London's Fright Fest, the audience was in absolute hysterics whenever they saw him.

The film would have been massively improved by hiring a different actor to play that role. When the Brody villain is in the apartment towards the end, slapping on white make-up whilst smiling, I feel genuinely embarrassed.

My understanding is that Dario Argento has publicly disowned this film because the dodgy US producers locked him out of the editing process. But I'm not convinced that any amount of editing could save this film.

I didn't even know it was Brody playing the villain. I just thought he was really dodgy anyway, the villain i mean not Brody's detective.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

I'm in the majority of loving Opera, Tenebre and Sleepless, The Card Player and Dracula was never daft on along with The Stendahl Syndrome and hated Mother Of Tears.

Like, Dracula is not good, but it was still very enjoyable if you know what I mean

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

You've been a roll!

Not seen this or Hitchcock, not really been actively avoiding them but unless you seek out an import they're not easy to come by. I am interested though. These 2, Phantom and Dark Glasses are still outstanding watches for me.

In the post Opera era I've enjoyed Trauma, Sleepless and The Card Player, I thought Dracula was OK though and I hated Stendhal. I like Mother of Tears as well!

Both Hitchcock and this were dvd's. Albeit Hitchcock was an import.

Don't know if i should watch Tears tonight or not. I've seen it loads over the years. It's not that long since i last endured Dracula. It's okay but the CGI dry ice is really distracting and most of the acting sub par. I don't hate it though.

[SymbioticFunction]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I didn't even know it was Brody playing the villain. I just thought he was really dodgy anyway, the villain i mean not Brody's detective.

Yep, dual role. The villain actor name is actually an anagram of Adrien Brody.

Edit: That explains why the villain looks so damn weird. Because they were using heavy make-up in an attempt to try to hide Brody's natural features.

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I saw those two at the cinema, Mr.B.

One was good but way too serious whilst the other was laughable.

We also saw another death row film around the same tine called Last Dance. Another you don't watch for a good time.`
`
Films often came round in pairs in the 90's. Two asteroid films - Deep Impact and Armageddon, Two death row films - Last Dance and Dead Man Walking. Two volcano films - Volcano and Dante's Peak. And so on.

Antz and A Bug's Life

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Tightrope (1984)

An excellent if less heralded thriller in which Clint Eastwood, who isn't afraid to explore the darker side of his persona - See Play Misty For Me and The Beguiled for more examples - in which he plays a detective on the trail of a serial killer.

What makes this edgier is the killer and the cop share the same kinky sexual tastes and haunt the same sleazy New Orleans night time world.

Director Richard Tuggle makes great use of the Louisiana locations and extracts excellent performances from Eastwood and Genevieve Bujold as a rape councilor. The themes explored are as dark as the neo noir atmosphere created in what is a top level psychological thriller.

There was a time, I thought that this was a Dirty Harry Movie.