What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Rik]

Into the Woods (2014)

Not a bad fairy tale film featuring a decent ensemble cast including Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine and the excellent Meryl Streep.

The film/musical is about a baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt) who can't have children due to a curse put on their family by the Witch next door (Streep), the Witch tells them that if they collect a few items by the time the next Blue Moon arrives, the curse will be lifted. What follows is their task of entering the woods to retrieve a white cow (from Jack and the Beanstalk), a blood red hood (from Little Red Riding Hood), some yellow hair (from Rapunzel) and a golden slipper (from Cinderella).
It's ok, but at over 2 hours long it could have done with some trimming, by the time it had finished me, my other half and stepdaughters were pretty bored.

The only reason we watched it is because this weeks episode of Educating Greater Manchester featured the kids performing a version of the play (which the film is based on).

Not as good as Malificent, but worth a watch if you've got children aged around 7-10

3/5

[Demoncrat]

Collide (2016, Eran Creevy)

A cast of brits try on different accents....well, all except A Hopkins
Decent car chases. Undemanding is the best thing I can say about it.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Rik

Into the Woods (2014)

I bought this from Music Magpie a few months back in one of their 2 for £3 bluray offers, I've not got around to it yet but I am intrigued. I think that Anna Kendrick plays Cinderella and I've always liked her.

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I bought this from Music Magpie a few months back in one of their 2 for £3 bluray offers, I've not got around to it yet but I am intrigued. I think that Anna Kendrick plays Cinderella and I've always liked her.

She does

Like I said, it's not a bad film just a bit long winded

[Cinematic Shocks]

Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996)

Yes, Bloodline is a mess… but it’s an interesting mess. It was the last Hellraiser sequel to hold my attention. I would love to see a new version that is as close to Kevin Yagher’s originally intended vision as possible. Because the problem wasn’t Yagher’s execution, but studio inference. If we can’t get a proper director’s cut, then something like the very good Alien 3 Assembly Cut will do fine.

*** out of *****

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Satan's Sadists (1969)

An inept vicious biker flick from producer/director Al Adamson. Except it's not actually all that inept, in the production stakes at least.

Adamson's direction and photography is fine. He captures the bleakness of the desert landscapes as the hell hole they are, and a few poorly judged zoom ins towards the end aside it's all quite competent.

However he's let down by a script which has the right ingredients but has no idea how to get the best out of them. Here lies the problem. The script for the most part is dire. The gang have no back story or motives. Characterization is weak as is the dialogue. The storyline lacks tension and isn't the least bit exciting. What could have been a gripping fight to the death in the desert ala The Hills Have Eyes ends up losing it's focus following the diner sequence and we end up with a biker gang in the desert chasing a couple of survivors from the diner, but also terrorizing everyone they come across for, well for no real reason.

I also found the soundtrack irritating. We weren't ever going to get Steppenwolf in this film with their desert plain riffs, and that's fine, but what we do have is sickly sweet jangly 60's pop which i didn't think fit the story at all. Maybe some will think its a good case of juxtaposing what our ears hear with what our eyes see but i just found it annoying.

So while Satan's Sadists makes the mockery of the well worn thought that Al Adamson made really bad films, i did see it as a let down but i can appreciate that it will appeal to others.

[Demoncrat]

Bad Words (2013, Jason Bateman)
Bateman stars in this ribald wee tale of a grown man who enters spelling bee competitions. Sounds thrilling doesn't it? He's not 'special' or has had a head injury thats made him think he's still a preteen etc. Allison Janney stars as his nemesis. Quite funny in places.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

In Time (2011)

A truly original sci-fi tale reminiscent of Philip K Dick where time is the ultimate commodity. Well, original if you haven't seen Logan's Run.

Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried star as polar opposites in a near-future world in which time, rather than money, has become the worlds currency. With the ageing gene switched off, people stop ageing at 25 years old, but there is a catch - they are genetically engineered to live for only one more year beyond 25 unless they can afford to pay to stay alive for longer. The wealthy and corrupt can buy decades at a time, the poor must beg, borrow or steal just to acquire enough hours to make it through the day.

Director Andrew Niccol has previous when it comes to quality science fiction with 97's excellent Gattaca, and In Time is perhaps just as good with almost flawless direction. Justin Timberlake proves what a good actor he's become and Amanda Seyfreid is always worth a watch in my opinion.

The film is fast paced and thrilling with some fine action set pieces as well as some edge of the seat moments as character's time (Seen as a sort of metre on their fore arm) runs out. Cillian Murphy (fresh from his Looney Tunes role in Thursday night's Red Eye) continues where he left he left off as a piercing eyed Timekeeper hellbent on tracking Timberlake down. Parts of the film remind of a near future Bond epic whilst others are very much in the realms of sci-fi.

Thought provoking and action packed, with a vibrant score from Craig Armstrong, In Time is a cracking bit of sci-fi which i really enjoyed.

Recommended.

[keirarts]

Paris, Texas
The film stars the late great Harry Dean Stanton who we see at the start wandering the American wilderness mute and near collapsed. He's picked up by his brother (Dean Stockwell) and taken to his home in LA. His brother and and sister in law have been raising Travis's son as it transpires that Travis has been missing some time. His wife has been sending payments to the son from a Texas bank so Travis and his son go on a road trip to find her.
Its hard to say much more because essentially that's the plot. However thematically there is so much more going on. Wim Wenders adapts Sam Sheperds screenplay brilliantly and with DP Bobby Muller photographing the American backdrops beautifully. I'm assured as great as this is on the small screen the sheer depth of the scenery is something to behold. Still the Blu-ray suffices.

Repo man

Taken from real life inspiration after director Alex Cox had spent some time working as a Repo Man in LA, the film takes the early eighties punk scene and mixes it in with sharp anti-consumerist messages and a pop culture aesthetic that drops in numerous references throughout. Check out the tannoy announcements calling for Dr Benway in the hospital scene as a prime example. The film has a strange meandering structure to it that somehow works in its favour giving it something of a zen feel and it has memorable dialogue and a killer soundtrack.

[keirarts]

American assasin#.jpg

Ok, rather than type the films title I've opted for a poster. Why? Well do you see the eiffel tower in the poster? I do. It's not in the bloody film. A large portion of the film is set in Rome. Some in Turkey. I don't recall Paris at all.
Why is this a problem? you might ask.
Well it's emblematic of the numerous problems with this film. Primarily its bland as hell. I honestly think Paris might have been in the film and it's just floated out my memory. Its like a fusion of every 90's spy film you've seen mixed with Tom Clancy by way of people who probably think Tom Clancy is too deep and needs toning down for its audience. In many ways this is worse than an actual bad movie. I can have real fun with a bad movie. I can laugh my ass off. Make fun of it and generally rip the s*** out of it. Such is the pleasure of bad movies. Michael Keaton gets it. We get one torture scene where he goes full 'bug eye' Keaton and the film threatens to become fun. Then it gives up. If its on TV and your drinking or getting high it might be worth a punt, simply by virtue of the fact that if you black out you wont miss anything important.