What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Laban]

[bdc]

A bit of a theme running though these films as both feature Maria Ozawa.



Invitation Only (2009)

"When Wade Chen, who is the driver of President Yang of the Weida Group, accidentally sees his boss shagging a top-model in the backseat of his car, Yang surprisingly invites him to go to a high-society party. Wade is grateful but tells him that he has neither money nor clothes to go to the event, but Yang tells him he will sponsor everything."

Supposedly Taiwan's first slasher, this one resembled a Hostel clone but injected with a more luxurious feel and a possible political agenda.

The film looks great though and was certainly an enjoyable and tense watch.

People who like cat and mouse games injected with a solid dose of blood and gore won't be disappointed.

Erotibot (2011)

"Tamayo is the young illegitimate daughter of a billionaire, and as the heiress to his financial empire she is kept safe and secluded in her mansion. Her only companions are the three servant androids her father has bought for her. "Number 1" is handsome and multitalented, "Number 2" is a superstrong military model and "Number 3" is a clumsy butler. Malfunctioning or not, "Number 3" is the most gentle and human of the three, and has developed a romantic crush on Tamayo. When she comes of age and starts her adult education, "Number 3" gets very confused indeed."

Obviously made on a much much smaller budget, Erotibot was a bit of a pleasant surprise.

Part of the sexy subgenre in the "Japanese new wave of splatter", I was surprised how little gore there was in this one (there is some though).

However, I found the whole "cyborg/android falls in love with virgin (and the other way around)" sort of charming and sweet.

The film has it's little flaws (mostly some sets and bad action choreography) but the majority of the film is not bad at all considering it's budget imho.

[trebor8273]

Close encounters of the third kind.

A true classic, not much more to say. Mind a nice change from must movies of the time which featured aliens who want to eat your face. Mind who knows what's those little guys did do you once they had you in there ship. You can really see the detail on the models on the Bly ray version. Never noticed till this viewing that lance Henriksen has a small role. 10/10

Nightmare on elm street 2

Defiantly not as good as the first, but still has its moment. I have to agre with what was said in the never sleep again documentary has to be one of the most homoerotic horrors ever made and I really cant think they didn't know this while making it. 7.5/10

The invisable man

Just fantastic . Claude rains is amazing in the role. A classic mix of chills and hilarious black comedy. The character of jenny hall (una O'Conner ) is comic gold. 10/10

[J Harker]

Mario Bava's Lisa and the Devil. Was Bava completely off his tits when he knocked this up? I can't say I dislike it, but it's completely bonkers.

[Frankie Teardrop]

ALUCARDA - Weird horror from seventies Mexico has a strange fairy tale atmosphere and is a sort of mix of nunsploitation and post-Exorcist horror but with its eye on a far more surreal horizon (I think the director had something to do with Jodorowsky at some point). It features nuns in odd menstrual gowns, girls dallying with the devil and some really harsh screaming. Really is worth a look for those who haven't already checked it out, very intense in places although gets a little baggy around the middle and can't quite sustain itself.

WAXWORK - The sixteen year old Frankie used to turn his nose up at this back in the mid-nineties when a tenth generation copy of 'In A Glass Cage' was all that was dreamed of. I've since learned the error of my ways and can now enjoy this trashy weirdness for what it is ie. a fairly novel mash up involving high school teen angst and campy monsterdom, but with a surprisingly crazed feel to it in places and some nice gore and toe dipping transgression for the overly cutesy nineties. I liked the 'portmanteau' aspect and the full on monster onslaught at the end. I say, go for it!

DEEP IN THE WOODS - I think this was part of that 'New French Splatter' wave of the early noughties. First time with it for me, and I have to say I really liked. It's essentially a slasher flick which riffs on 'Little Red Riding Hood' and features a bitchy young acting troupe being progressively whittled down by a dude in a wolf outfit in a house. The film's style (with multiple nods to the baroque orchestrations of Argento ) and dark quirks (an omnipresent autistic kid with an eerie stare) provide the focus, and a claustrophobic ambience takes centre stage. Very good.

BUNDY - The Matthew Bright film from 2002. Starts off looking like it might do a slightly twisted tongue in cheek number on the man and his crimes, and to an extent it does, but it ends up being utterly disturbing, particularly in the last half hour, with its barbaric state execution preparation. In fact, out of pretty much all the films I've seen recently, it left me with that slightly hollow, numb feeling that a really hard hitting piece of dark cinema can sometimes impart. Definitely worth checking out.

STOKER - I was actually really impressed by this mainstream effort, which manages to be a bit twisted, or at least as twisted as a film starring Nicole Kidman has any right to be. There are sickly undertones lurking beneath the crisply elegant semi-art house veneer erected by Oldboy director Chan-Wook Park and the whole thing seems a stylish excursion into incest weirdness which I'm looking forward to watching again soon if I can if only for fairness's sake as unfortunately I was half cut when I saw it.

[JoshuaKaitlyn]

Had a Hammer week! Decided to steer clear of the Dracula, Frankenstein and Prehistoric films and concentrate on some of the lesser known early and other classics!

Pirates of Blood River (1962) So-so!
Man About the House (1974) Bit of nostalgia here I remember seeing it as a kid and was mildly excited by Sally Thomsett declaring that she had "Frog Spawn my bra"
The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) again so-so
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) Classic made all the more so by the titular werewolf not really making an appearence until well into the movie.
The Shadow of the Cat (1961) The murder of an old woman is avenged by her moggie who witnessed said deed! Actually it isnt as bad as it sounds!
The Mummy (1959) Chris Lee was great in this!
Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter (1974) Didnt enjoy this that much! Its one of those films that never grabbed me!
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) Not as good as the previous one, the mummys makeup just makes me laugh, although the musical score is great.
The Nanny (1965) First time viewing this and what a movie!
The Mummy's Shroud (1967) Great score, not bad film.
The Lost Continent (1968) Dana Gillespie....nuff said!
Blood From the Mummy's Tomb (1971) Valerie Leon...even more 'nuff said!

and not Hammer
Gangster Squad (2013) It was OK

[SShaw]

I don't expect any sympathy, but after quite enjoying the trailer for Jackass: Grandpa I decided to give it a chance. Big mistake. Playing like a hybrid of Game for a Laugh (or Candid Camera for our American cousins) and Borat it lacks both the originality of the first (almost all of the set pieces have been done before and done better before) and the political message of the latter. The framing device, grandpa takes grandson on a journey across the U.S., does't work because the characters don't work while the set pieces, with the exception of the beauty pageant climax, fall flat due to the lack of any real reaction from the unsuspecting public.

The film was supposed to play in Originalfassung - with the original soundtrack - but due to technical difficulties the German dub was shown. As a result we all got to see the film, our money back and a free ticket for our next visit. Despite this I still feel that I paid too much.

My advice, watch the trailer and avoid the movie and spend the 85 minutes this will save doing something more entertaining - such as nailing your testes to your front door.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by JoshuaKaitlyn

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter (1974) Didnt enjoy this that much! Its one of those films that never grabbed me!

I feel exactly the same.

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

WAXWORK - The sixteen year old Frankie used to turn his nose up at this back in the mid-nineties when a tenth generation copy of 'In A Glass Cage' was all that was dreamed of. I've since learned the error of my ways and can now enjoy this trashy weirdness for what it is ie. a fairly novel mash up involving high school teen angst and campy monsterdom, but with a surprisingly crazed feel to it in places and some nice gore and toe dipping transgression for the overly cutesy nineties. I liked the 'portmanteau' aspect and the full on monster onslaught at the end. I say, go for it!

One of my favorite films. Well worth checking out the sequel lost in time.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by keirarts

One of my favorite films. Well worth checking out the sequel lost in time.

Yeah, I really liked it. In fact, I think you reminded me of its existence in a recentish post, so thanks for inspiring me to go out and get it. I haven't seen the sequel, but if it's as much fun as the original I'll give it a go.