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Survivalist its had mixed reviews, its a apocalypse film where it shows more reality than fiction, if you ever was stuck in that situation. It was a very well made film but at same time thought was so slow it made the room look like action film of the year. It doesnt relie on music or much dialogue either. Its not predictable and at times youre not sure which way its going. Its one of those films its so dull and boring you want to switch off, but at same time you dont because you want to see the outcome of what happens, sadly it should have been the first options because in the end its mounts to nothing. |
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Teorema (1968) I don't think I've seen a film like the strange and unusual Teorema before. I wasn't 100% sure what to expect as I put it in the player since in the Pasolini box set there is a short sentence for a synopsis and the box just has the poster on it and the 'mother' on the back. I was taken aback by the lack of dialogue, and apparently it was marketed as a film which has less than 1000 words spoken. After a few minutes acclimatising to the set-up I began to appreciate the lyrical style of filming and how the scenes worked together. The strange visitor coming to the house and systematically seducing each member of the house in the fashion they personally needed, before vanishing as mysteriously has he appeared! Stand out scenes include the devout maid trying to deal with the strange desires she's not used to and later on the mother overcoming her sexual repression and picking up young men in her mini! I'm keen to rewatch this at some point soon with the commentary track.
__________________ Triumphant sight on a northern sky |
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Wacko A deliriously silly slasher spoof starring Joe Don Baker and the late great George Kennedy. Essentially lots of sight gags and spoofs of popular films of the early 80's including the popular craze for slasher classics as well as films like Grease. Its a completely idiotic piece of fluff, however its still way funnier than any of the scary movie films. Deadpool Funnier than Grimsby, possibly my favourite film this year... so far. Second time of viewing. |
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Audition Ryo Ishibashi plays Shigeharu Aoyama a widower who has remained single for many years after his wife's death. Aoyama has been buried in work and caring for his son, so one day his son advises its time for him to think about re-marrying. While there are numerous candidates to choose from including a work colleague with who he had a fling and still holds a flame, as well as his housekeeper, Aoyama has a specific idea on the type of woman he is looking for. His friend, who produces films suggests they hold an audition. This will allow him to meet a large number of women that might meet his requirements. Going through the applications he spots a woman who catches his eye, Asami Yamazaki and decides to court her, much against his friends advice. His friend Yoshikawa played by Japanese cinema legend Jun Kunimura feels there is something wrong with the beautiful Asami. At first things seem to go well, but after a romantic getaway Asami disappears. Attempting to track her down Aoyama discovers some horrifying truths about his new woman. Audition was one of the flagship titles for Tartans Asia extreme label and came along with a surge of interest in asian cinema along with titles like Battle Royale and The Ring. Audition is classed as a Horror picture but any newcomer would be surprised to find a large portion of the film plays liek a domestic drama. Its only the point where Asami disappears that director brings the horror to the forefront. However there are some clues to Asami's true nature through the film. Asami constantly dresses in white, a colour that can symbolise purity and innocence but in Japanese culture can also symbolise death and mourning. Auditon is a horror film that plays on the pedastals men place women on. Aoyama falls into Asami's trap as she appears to be fragile and damaged, someone he can rescue. Looking for someone who might fuel his own ego he misses the opportunity for love that presents itself as it fails to meet his own ideals. The final act of Audition is still unnerving watching it today, its a really shocking, perverse and nasty twist in the tale that lingers in the memory. I suspect less patient viewers might find the first 40 min hard work but the pay off is worth it. The Arrow blu-ray looks stunning. |
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ImageUploadedByTapatalk1457120304.409371.jpg Dreadful acting, and direction but that doesn't stop it being a lot of fun, another it's so bad it's good. Story involves an insane mercenary who is kidnapping people for war games, unfortunately for him his incompetent men kidnap Mike Dalton who is the most perfect killer ever and along with his mighty 80s mullet is an unstoppable force that makes Rambo , John matrix and the rest of the 80s action heroes look like a bunch a pussies. 7.4/10 ImageUploadedByTapatalk1457120731.928477.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalk1457120739.546850.jpg Next up my first viewing of tangled Last edited by trebor8273; 4th March 2016 at 08:42 PM. |
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Succubus (1969) Janine Reynaud stars as Lorna, a performer of an S&M act at a nightclub. Under the influence of her enigmatic manager, Jack Taylor, she begins to lose her grip on reality and her dreams become real life hallucinations in a dangerous game played by the Mephistopheles like Taylor. Succubus is an odd film in the Jess Franco canon. Dreams and hallucinations are things he'd always go back to throughout his career but Succubus becomes a surreal viewing experience as the viewer also loses all concept of Reynaud's reality and the plot becomes ever so incoherent yet still remains a quite fascinating viewing experience. I suppose how much you enjoy Succubus depends on Janine Reynaud as the film is her vehicle and rests solely on her performance. Despite several smaller roles Succubus was her breakthrough performance, at the age of 39. Despite IMDB saying Franco discovered her in a bistro in Rome, this isn't true. She was married to actor Michel Lemoine who was known to Franco's co-producer and actor Adrian Hoven. When Lemoine was cast, Franco still had no star and chose the former model due to her association with Lemoine and her gorgeous but unconventional look as well as a lack of inhibition due to her modelling. Her casting also helped the film as friend and designer, Karl Lagerfeld, produced her costumes. I think Reynaud is brilliant. She has the statuesque figure that would easily dominate both women and men in any sexual act but is also equally at home when in the presence of actors like Howard Vernon, her range swinging from derangedly perverse to elegantly insecure. Franco introduces Reynaud's fever-dreams or hallucinatory reality through soft focus, high grain camera techniques which look decidedly odd at first but you soon get used to it and the blurring of dream and reality often means scenes are filmed using this and normal camera lenses as the film continues. Succubus isn't a fast moving film, nor is it especially gory. Naturally there's a fair amount of sleaze and Reynaud nudity as well as some glorious oddball scenes such as the shop dummies seemingly coming alive to murder an unfortunate girl or truly inspiring cinematography from Franco. The film's other highlight is the truly magnificent score from Austrian composer and pianist Friedrich Gulda who ensures Succubus has an air of the sensual amidst the sleaze onscreen. Succubus is an often disorienting decadent film and is never less than interesting, especially in it's weirdness, making it in my opinion one of the director's best works. |
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