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#1101
22nd October 2016, 09:30 PM
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 Oliver the Eighth 1934 ★★★★ Oliver the Eighth 1934 ★★★★ (yes its a reposty)  Before the internet and Tinder, dating had to be done through the private add columns of the newspaper. Mae Busch a widow , is looking for a congenial young man to marry, Oliver seeing Stan cutting the advert dismisses the idea "some old crab with a face that would stop a clock". Stan manages to convince Olly that its a good idea with Stan's usual "Tell me that again" so they both send letters to the widow making a bet on whole get a reply, or do they? Oliver doesn't post Stan's letter a sign he was a bit insecure about the whole bet in the first place. Stanley: No, listen... I'd take some of the money, and I'd have her face lifted. Then we could settle down, congenial, and we would have to scrape chins any more... wouldn't have to work hard any more. Oliver: Tell me that again. Stanley: Well, I could take some of the money... and I'd have her skinned... and she'd be able to look at a clock without having to work hard any more... and we could settle down and scrape each other's chin... and congenial... if I didn't have to work hard anymore. Oliver: I know exactly what you mean. Well Oliver wins the bet and goes off to marry the merry widow, when he arrives at the widows house he's greeted by the butler (Jack Barty) a raving loony who plays imaginary cards and serves imaginary food, this leads to two great gags one involving Stan showing Oliver a card trick, only for Olly to smack the cards out of Stan's hand. The Butler picks up the cards only for Stan to spot that he has left one of the imaginary cards behind. Also you can see Stan's rising confusion as the imaginary food is served by the Butler. Of course Mae's intentions are not only dishonest but homicidal, apparently dumped by an Oliver she now swears vengeance on any man called Oliver, by cutting there throats. I have read some reviews that say this short is too long and a little slowly paced, but the longer the short the better I say. In fact Oliver the Eighth does feel more like a feature film than a 3 reel short comedy. There are some bizarre scenes in the film, like when Stan finds a pump action shotgun in the bedroom? then blasts a pair of Oliver's long john's leaving a gaping hole. And seeing Mae Busch coming towards the camera brandishing a butchers knife is quite unsettling. Although its not an out an out horror, it does go to show you can mix comedy and chills pretty effectively given the right setting, this and the other short The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case really has an Old Dark House feel to it. But hey wouldn't you know it it was all just a dream THE END. 
__________________ Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much..   |
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#1102
23rd October 2016, 10:48 AM
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#1103
23rd October 2016, 12:20 PM
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| Laurel & Hardy Volume 6 - Murder in the Air/Classic Shorts Laurel & Hardy Volume 6 - Murder in the Air/Classic Shorts Yes its in vol 6 of this release. 41E997NAMWL.jpg
__________________ Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.. |
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#1104
23rd October 2016, 12:23 PM
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#1105
23rd October 2016, 12:27 PM
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| A Knife for the Ladies (1974)  Slow slasher-western with a TV soap opera feel at times, A Knife for the Ladies is certainly a curio though, almost playing out like a giallo on occasion, what with the infamous black gloves making an appearance and some red herrings dotted throughout. The hybrid nature of its composite genres and some of the dialogue interactions throughout keep it trundling along, despite being a bit of a chore at times. An explosive ending also makes up for some of the drudgery that preceded it. |
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#1106
23rd October 2016, 01:00 PM
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Inspector Abberline likes this. |
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#1107
23rd October 2016, 01:07 PM
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As promised, here are some brief reviews of the horror (I use the term quite broadly) films I have watched so far this month: The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (and with commentary) – I wouldn’t call it a classic giallo (if, indeed, it is a giallo), but it’s a very well crafted and thoroughly engaging thriller by Emilio Miraglia. The commentary by Troy Howarth is quite dry, but informative and worth a listen. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (and with commentary) – this is probably the other film for which Emilio Miraglia is known and, in my opinion, is the better of the two. It is slightly uneven, has some really bizarre scenes and, in the end, the titular character probably only kill six times. In the end, those don’t really matter because it is entertaining and always holds my attention throughout. I’m not sure why the commentary was not by Troy Howarth, giving him the opportunity to talk about both films, but Alan Jones and Kim ‘Yiallo’ Newman make a fine duo and certainly know their stuff when it comes to Italian genre cinema. The Lazarus Effect – Sent from Lovefilm when it was Normal priority and there were probably 10 things in the High category, this is a film which I’ll have largely forgotten about by this time next year. It begins with a team of scientists trying to see if they can reanimate a dog. They do so, seemingly successfully. However, the canine soon exhibits aggressive and even telepathic behaviour, so the experiment, and the dog, is terminated. Of course, this being a horror film, they aren’t finished and sneak back into the establishment to try again. When the lead researcher’s fiancée is electrocuted and killed following a power outage, he takes matters into his own hands and decides to bring her back to life. Two things go smoothly with everyone living happily ever after? Of course not. Puppet Master 4 – I had had this 88 Films Blu-ray for a while before watching it and, even though it had been some years since I saw the third instalment in the series, was able to pick up where things were and had a great time with the mischievous, murderous, toys. Puppet Master 5 – Pretty much picking up where the previous left off, this is another enjoyable instalment – nominally the final one – in the series. I intend to revisit both of them later on to check out the commentaries. Devil’s Playground – You know you’re in trouble when Craig Fairbrass is the best actor on screen but, even though this plays out like the unintentionally funny bastard child of 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead, there is enough zombie horde action and violence to stave off the boredom. Flatliners – I don’t know why this had completely passed me by until now, so this viewing was my first. It a film I knew about, but hadn’t seen, and found it much more involving and entertaining than I expected, largely due to the quality cast and wonderful cinematography by Jan De Bont. Joel Schumacher is far from my favourite director and his visual style has pros and cons with the subject matter, but it is entertaining and I feel like revisiting it sooner rather than later. Curse of Chucky – It had been some time since I last saw this so had almost entirely forgotten what took place, apart from the tonal shift from Bride of Chucky/Seed of Chucky. I still prefer the first film in the Child’s Play series to any which follow, and the aforementioned horror-comedies to the second and third instalments, but this is a suitably nasty and blackly funny film with an ending which beautifully sets up a sequel. Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (and with commentary) – I have a real soft spot for this because it is so barmy and intentionally daft that the now dated VFX and slightly ropey acting don’t bother me and I really like the camerawork, cinematography, and humour. The commentary on the 88 Films BD is well worth checking out because it is entertaining and full of information of which I was previously unaware. Lost River – Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut has some standout performances from the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Christina Hendricks, and Matt Smith. Gosling has a great eye for detail, something he has no doubt picked up from Nicolas Winding Refn. I don’t know if I’ve picked up everything on this one viewing, so will probably buy it when the price drops as there are things I liked, but didn’t completely ‘get’, and would like to see if another viewing would cast more light on such things as the underwater city and dinosaur. Bad Moon (and with commentary) – I don’t know why I hadn’t seen this film before, but decided to buy the (fairly expensive) Region A BD based on the glowing comments around here. I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest and loved this lycanthrope adventure from beginning to end. The commentary is more like an essay delivered by the director, but that’s not a bad thing because it is packed with information and thankfully justified my decision to watch the director’s cut rather than the theatrical version. Lesson of the Evil – Another film sent randomly by Lovefilm and one of Miike Takashi’s which I hadn’t previously heard of, let alone seen. If you haven’t seen it either, I would strongly recommend that you remedy that at the earliest possible opportunity because it is a brilliantly acted and constructed drama/thriller. Queen of the Damned – I had stayed away from this intentionally because of the negative reviews and comments I had read and heard from people, but bought it cheaply when someone, I think it was Demdike, posted about the film and soundtrack. It says a great deal that the soundtrack is the best part about the entire film, and incredibly distracting when Lestat, this time played by Stuart Townsend, is devoid of the charisma and menace which Tom Cruise gave him in Interview with the Vampire, and is clearly lip syncing to Jonathan Davies when singing on stage! Burn, Witch, Burn (and with commentary) – I rented the British DVD some time ago and enjoyed it so much that I bought the US BD. This British made horror film, also known as Night of the Eagle, is a brilliant exercise in suspense and the supernatural, but it is a real shame that Richard Matheson is on his own in the commentary booth rather than accompanied by a journalist who can prompt him for information during the numerous, and long, spells of dead air. Them! – This is part of the Premium Collection from HMV and a brilliant ‘nuclear monster’ film, with giant ants threatening to destroy the world. The highlight is probably the wonderful performance by Edmund Gwenn as the main scientist who identifies the insects’ weakness and helps coordinate the human fightback. The Shining – It has been some time since I saw this, the longer version of Stanley Kubrick’s great horror movie, and it reinforced my opinion that less is more. In losing some of the longer dialogue scenes, the film feels altogether tauter and the tension does not drop as it does during such moments as when Halloran is chatting on the phone to a garage owner friend of hers. It is still a brilliant movie, but I’ll probably stick with the shorter version unless curiosity draws me back to the original cut. Green Room – I wasn’t sure what to expect, but actually very much enjoyed this particularly nasty and tense affair with a wonderfully diabolical performance from Patrick Stewart, cleverly cast against type. Like Lost River, this is going on my wish list for when the price drops and I’ll watch it with the commentary and many more times without. The Hills Have Eyes – I have never spent any time ranking Wes Craven’s films but, if I were to, this would be in the top tier. I wish I had been around to see it in the late 1970s when the make-up effects were cutting-edge and the violence would have been altogether much more shocking than it is nowadays, but the film is intelligent enough to survive and even prosper when the attention is not on the more visceral aspects. It’ll be interesting to go through the four commentary tracks on the Arrow Video release and see what pearls of wisdom can be picked up from the numerous contributors. The Exorcist – Still my all-time favourite film, and a horror film which works on numerous levels. I love it with all my heart and intend to read the book again once I have finished The Last Days of Jack Sparks. Count Yorga, Vampire – An interesting, but not altogether successful, vampire movie, but one I quite enjoyed and intend to revisit with the commentary next week and then rewatch after I have done the same with the sequel. The Exorcist III – Although I think some parts of this film are superb, others are quite frankly not, and the exorcism sequence at the end grates more and more with every viewing. After watching it, I preordered the new Shout! Factory release of William Peter Blatty’s director’s cut (which is released on Tuesday) and hope it arrives very quickly from the US. Like The Exorcist, Legion is a book which I intend to read this year before going back to university.
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#1108
23rd October 2016, 01:10 PM
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| Unmasked Part 25 (1989)  British slasher satire which takes knowing pot-shots at US slashers (notably the Friday the 13th franchise), whilst at the same time telling its own tale of the deformed and mis-understood loner Jackson, who spends his life masked and killing folk in various gory ways until one day he meets the blind Shelley and things start to change. Jackson starts questioning his whole existence and re-evaluating his status in life and whether killing is really for him, as romance begins to blossom between the couple. A clever, fun, and surprisingly touching film in places, which handles the diversity of its genres to great effect whilst expelling deadpan humour in droves. I regret not checking this one out sooner. |
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#1109
23rd October 2016, 01:14 PM
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Inspector Abberline likes this.
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#1110
23rd October 2016, 01:28 PM
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Damn, Nos! You love your commentaries don't you? I haven't listened to one in months. |
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