What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[keirarts]

Branded to kill.

Nikkatsu gangster flick from 1967. All the tropes of the western gangster film are present including double crossing dames, gunfights, betrayal and whiskey but with an eastern edge. Branded to kills influence on later pictures both eastern and western (including early Jim Jarmusch) is evident in this grittly tale of Japans #3 contract killer on the run after a job goes south. Plenty of violence, some fantastic camera work and editing, graphic sex and a smooth jazzy score make this worth seeing out.

Tapped in lust.

Later, full colour re-working of Branded to kill that while not as good is still worth checking out, the hitman is somewhat more worn out and seedy, but its still an entertaining slice of exploitation.


Blind Woman's Curse.

Meiko Kaji is the girl boss of a Yakuza family attempting to go straight, however a rival gangs ambitions threaten her family's existence and a bloody showdown ensues. So far so traditional Yakuza flick, except this one throws in supernatural curses, cannibalistic hunchbacks and sequences not out of place in films like horrors of malformed men. (Based on the same source material) Blind woman's curse is a gorgeous looking, slightly mental Nikkatsu exploitation pic that's well worth watching.

[fuzzymctiger]

Haven't written anything in a while, as a few movies I wasn't sure how I felt about them, and thought I'd let them sit before writing about them. In the end I just got lazy and forgot to write about them, so I hope i remember stuff about the earlier ones.

American Splendour - Very odd little biopic about Harvey Pekar, the main character and writer (but not illustrator) of the American Splendour comics. The film chronicles his adult life from the birth of the comic to his retirement, interspersed with narration from Pekar himself, and small snippets with the real people or archive footage. Very good performances, but very odd and bleak. A bit slow, oddly charming, but slightly annoying. Despite leaving it for so long, I still have no idea how I feel about it. I give it a good rating, but only because I felt it was a good film, not sure if I enjoyed it. 7/10

Stand By Me - Had not seen this before, but had no idea why I waited, I wish I saw this when I was younger. Something about Northwestern US just clicks with me, I love the scenery. The performances and writing were spot on, a very young all star cast, a very very real portrayal of what it's like to be a kid, very well shot, just an all round perfect movie. The changing of stereotypes with the characters worked nicely, and it flowed very well. The ending was a nice touch as well. All round, I can't flaw this movie in anyway, and a list of everything good about it would get annoying. If you haven't seen it before, see it. 10/10

Enter The Void - Started this a while ago when I first got it, put it on my laptop to give a quick check of quality, and found myself blankly immersed in it for a good 2 hours or so. Despite long stretches of trips or blanks, it never got old. It was amazingly made and surprisingly engrossing. A tragic back story and some very real feeling character, however very graphic at points. I particularly liked the way it was made as well, with the POV. When i finally watched the final hour, I found myself getting a tad tired or annoyed, and one dream sequence didn't work well, keeping the POV of a character in the dream without any transition. Overall though, a truly special and unique piece of work that I'd definitely watch again for the visual. If you have a spare 3 hours and a long attention span with a blank mind, I recommend. 10/10

Ichi The Killer - Always heard about this because of all it's shocking content. With no access to the film, I read the original manga last year. And I ****ing loved it. Absolutely depraved, I had no idea how the movie could live up to it. This year, I watched the movie. And it did a surprisingly good job! Kept nearly all the key sequences, didn't back off, a very very good adaption. Some changes were made involving the twins, as there was no way the excessively brutal and disgusting antics of them could be completely put in the movie, but I felt that actually worked better. The movie for the most part is well made, fun to watch, and a good score. The tongue cutting made me cringe so bad, but otherwise i felt I must have become rather desensitized. However, the movie seriously lost it at the end. The fight between Jiji and the bodyguard was stupid, ruining a great moment of the book by rushing it with silly effects. And the ending itself, the funniest part of the manga, and also uplifting, made no sense whatsoever in the movie. Other than that, a truly great watch. 9/10

The Exorcist - I've put this off for years. Why? Not because I was scared, but because I knew it would never live up to the scariest movie ever. Was it disturbing? Yes. Did it live up to the hype? Not a chance. Was it a very good movie though? Absolutely. Smart, chilling, well thought out and just all round satisfying to watch. At first I didn't understand the obsession (I know it has some fanatical fans on here), but in the end I quite enjoyed it and would certainly rewatch it. Easy 10/10, not many horror classics left to watch now (I think Carrie and The Fly remake and I've done all the major 70/80's. If anyone has any definitive lists of must watch absolute classics from those periods, major not obscure, that would be great. Also what's the opinion on the sequels for this?)

John Wick - Went into this with a friend knowing absolutely nothing except Keanu Reeves. What did I get? 0 plot, 0 back story, everything we're assumed to have known, and just a all round stupid but absolutely fantastic watch. Amazing action, no shaky cam, just mega cool and absolutely brainless. Give it a watch with some beers and mates. 8/10

The Blob - Twilight Time blu ray arrived, and watched it last night, and to be honest i was hoping to enjoy it more. The effects of the victims were very cool, and for the most part the blob. Some blob scenes were very confusing as the perspective was completely off though. Otherwise, the characters felt a bit flat, it was very slow at times, and the military angle felt really odd. Also mega mega stupid and cheesy at points but i guess that comes from the source material. Was it fun? I guess. Were the effects good? Yep, worth a watch. Worth $40? Not a chance. 6.5/10

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by fuzzymctiger

The Exorcist - I've put this off for years. Why? Not because I was scared, but because I knew it would never live up to the scariest movie ever. Was it disturbing? Yes. Did it live up to the hype? Not a chance. Was it a very good movie though? Absolutely. Smart, chilling, well thought out and just all round satisfying to watch. At first I didn't understand the obsession (I know it has some fanatical fans on here), but in the end I quite enjoyed it and would certainly rewatch it. Easy 10/10, not many horror classics left to watch now (I think Carrie and The Fly remake and I've done all the major 70/80's. If anyone has any definitive lists of must watch absolute classics from those periods, major not obscure, that would be great. Also what's the opinion on the sequels for this?)

As I'm probably the most fanatical of fanatical fans here, I'm very glad you felt that way!

In terms of the sequels, Exorcist II: The Heretic is terrible, but watchable if you pretend it's a comedy (a little like Repossessed) and has nothing at all to do with Friedkin's masterpiece. The Exorcist III, on the other hand, is a very good and, at times, very scary horror film. It doesn't have the same intensity or verisimilitude and suffers because of some studio interference (Morgan Creek still need to make amends for that), but it is definitely one to add to your collection.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

When it comes to classic genre films which are 'essential viewing', there isn't a definitive list, but, in 1999, Empire released a Special Collector's Edition supplement called The Greatest Horror Films Ever, which is a really good 'beginners guide' to horror. In it, there are 50 films in different categories of films, which I'll list here.

Creature Features
Frankenstein
Nosferatu
Dracula (1931)
The Mummy
The Bride of Frankenstein
Cat People
The Curse of Frankenstein
Night of the Demon
Dracula (1958)
The Birds
Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
The Fog
The Howling
The Keep
The Company of Wolves
Near Dark
Interview with the Vampire

Nightmare Movies
Don't Look Now
Witchfinder General
The Wicker Man
The Hills Have Eyes
Videodrome
The Blair Witch Project

Hauntings
The Sixth Sense
Carnival of Souls
The Haunting
Poltergeist
Candyman

Slasher Movies
Halloween
House of Wax
Psycho
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Suspiria
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Re-Animator
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Diabolic
The Exorcist
Rosemary's Baby
The Omen
Hellraiser

Psychomania
The Shining
the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Pit and the Pendulum
Carrie
The Evil Dead 2
Fight Club

Comedy Horror
Scream
An American Werewolf in London
Gremlins

Bear in mind, this publication is dated because, at the end, the Final Word ('See No Evil'), written by Kim Newman, goes through films which aren't available on video. These include Straw Dogs, Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave, The House at the Edge of the Park, Cannibal Holocaust, Deep River Savages, Eaten Alive, Cannibal Ferox, Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, SS Experiment Camp and Child's Play 3 – how times have changed!

[Susan Foreman]

Hitchcock (2012)

I'm sure that there is a film to be made about the making of 'Psycho', but this is not it!

Disappointing sums it up

[Paul@TheOverlook]

Originally Posted by suziginajackson

Hitchcock (2012)



I'm sure that there is a film to be made about the making of 'Psycho', but this is not it!



Disappointing sums it up

As a factual recreation it's bollocks but I thought it was great fun.

[fuzzymctiger]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

As I'm probably the most fanatical of fanatical fans here, I'm very glad you felt that way!

In terms of the sequels, Exorcist II: The Heretic is terrible, but watchable if you pretend it's a comedy (a little like Repossessed) and has nothing at all to do with Friedkin's masterpiece. The Exorcist III, on the other hand, is a very good and, at times, very scary horror film. It doesn't have the same intensity or verisimilitude and suffers because of some studio interference (Morgan Creek still need to make amends for that), but it is definitely one to add to your collection.

Ahh knew I'd find the fanatic! :P

Thank you very much for your advice, with the amazing and very thorough list, and for this. Both sound great, so I'll give them a watch at some point soon hopefully If they're any good, ill pick up the blu ray set with the prequels.

[fuzzymctiger]

As for the list, here's what im yet to see

Creature Features
Frankenstein
Dracula (1931)
The Mummy
The Bride of Frankenstein
Cat People
The Curse of Frankenstein
Night of the Demon
Dracula (1958)
The Howling
The Keep (Have and need to watch)
The Company of Wolves
Near Dark
Interview with the Vampire

Nightmare Movies
Don't Look Now
Witchfinder General
The Hills Have Eyes (Started but wimped out. need to finish)

Hauntings
Carnival of Souls
Candyman

Slasher Movies
House of Wax (Original I hope)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Diabolic
Rosemary's Baby (Have and need to watch)

Psychomania
the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Carrie (Started just yesterday but wasn't comfortable with a lot of things. Will push through)

Straw Dogs, Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave, The House at the Edge of the Park, Deep River Savages, Eaten Alive, Cannibal Ferox, Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, SS Experiment Camp

I will admit I'm woefully uneducated pre-1970's, and as for Nasties, Ive worked through a few but not many of the serious ones as listed above.

Time to save this list and get watching!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Paul@TheOverlook

As a factual recreation it's bollocks but I thought it was great fun.

I thought so too.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Paul@TheOverlook

As a factual recreation it's bollocks but I thought it was great fun.

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I thought so too.

That makes three of us!