What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Rik]

Literally got the end credits for this on my TV as I type. First time I've watched it in about 3 or 4 years, and I still think it's the last decent entry in the Dead saga, Diary is ok whereas Survival is pretty poor IMO although I have only seen it once

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Rik

Think I might watch it today before I head out teaching

And that is exactly what I did before watching Land of the Dead.
I love Martin, but it's a shame the print on Arrow's Immortal Edition looks pretty crappy, we need a HD version

[keirarts]

Diary of the Dead.

Somewhat controversial with fans, Diary upset some by adopting a found footage style. The film also seems to re-boot things and goes back to Night but in the era of mobile phones and portable digital cameras. Released in 2007 as social media waqs beginning to take off (youtube launched 2005, Facebook 2004). To his credit however, the film ends up being a critique of the form itself and of social media. The film observes the difficulty in keeping things under wraps and controlling the flow of information in the digital arena. It asks that as technology allows for more and more voices to be heard, how will it be posisble to detemine where the truth lies. Given the state we're in today the films sentiments seem fairly prescient. I enjoy the film. I certainly think its a little underrated. It acknowledges one of my main bugbears of the found footage genre, where people refuse to stop filming even in the worst of situations. Its well paced, the FX are a mixed bag as Romero is experimenting with digital gore (not always successfully.) However unlike Land this is Romero operating truly independently again.

[keirarts]

survival of the dead

A group of national guardsman who appear as incidental characters in Diary of the dead are central characters in Romero's final dead film. They go AWOL realising that law & order is beginning to crumble. On the road they stumble across a survivor who informs them of an island where the locals are inviting people to come live in safety. Once at the island they discover they are in a feud that seems to have been torn out of a 19th century irish novel. Two clans are feuding over what to do with the dead. One wants to exterminate them, turning the island into something of a safe haven. The other wants to domesticate the dead much like Logan did, teaching them to eat something other than people. The central conflict is between the two ideologies and neither side accepting the others point of view. Essentially its like an online discussion board where the moderators have given up.
Its one of Romeros weaker films but not without its charms. It once again looks at how peoples inability to work together and compromise ultimately dooms them. Where it falls short is with some genuinely dreadful digital effects and a feeling that romero himself is a little tired of the subject matter. I did enjoy it more than I did the first time round though.

[bleakshaun]

Originally Posted by keirarts

Land of the dead

A group of national guardsman who appear as incidental characters in Diary of the dead are central characters in Romero's final dead film. They go AWOL realising that law & order is beginning to crumble. On the road they stumble across a survivor who informs them of an island where the locals are inviting people to come live in safety. Once at the island they discover they are in a feud that seems to have been torn out of a 19th century irish novel. Two clans are feuding over what to do with the dead. One wants to exterminate them, turning the island into something of a safe haven. The other wants to domesticate the dead much like Logan did, teaching them to eat something other than people. The central conflict is between the two ideologies and neither side accepting the others point of view. Essentially its like an online discussion board where the moderators have given up.
Its one of Romeros weaker films but not without its charms. It once again looks at how peoples inability to work together and compromise ultimately dooms them. Where it falls short is with some genuinely dreadful digital effects and a feeling that romero himself is a little tired of the subject matter. I did enjoy it more than I did the first time round though.

i was about to say you've already posted a review of land, then realised while reading its survival.
i'm also sure the head of the guardsmen is in land of the dead

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by bleakshaun

i was about to say you've already posted a review of land, then realised while reading its survival.
i'm also sure the head of the guardsmen is in land of the dead

Fixed!

Its wha i get doing this at work!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bleakshaun

i was about to say you've already posted a review of land, then realised while reading its survival.
i'm also sure the head of the guardsmen is in land of the dead

Yeah it's the actor Alan Van Sprang but i don't think he's playing the same character.

[bleakshaun]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Yeah it's the actor Alan Van Sprang but i don't think he's playing the same character.

i thought so, but that would've been fascinating if he was playing the same character in all 3 films

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bleakshaun

i thought so, but that would've been fascinating if he was playing the same character in all 3 films

He might be, but it's an anomaly if he is due to the time periods of the films.

Plus isn't he killed in Land?

[bleakshaun]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

He might be, but it's an anomaly if he is due to the time periods of the films.

Plus isn't he killed in Land?

yeah he is