What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

Tried watching this a dozen or so times but just get to about 20 minutes and switch off every time.

The Blair Witch Project is remarkably effective and influential. It's one of the most unsettling and unnerving films I've ever seen.

I have watched it many times at home and always wish I'd seen it at the cinema.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Dolores Claiborne (1995) ★★★★

I haven't read the Stephen King novel on which this is based wouldn't be surprised if it has the same dual narrative structure in which events switch between the past and present, occasionally overlapping. It's brilliantly constructed by Taylor Hackford (from Tony Gilroy's screenplay) and its slow burning nature allows the powerful performances, especially from Kathy Bates (just as she did five years earlier in another King adaptation, Misery), to come to the fore and dominate. It isn't a solo outing from Bates as she is ably supported by an excellent cast including Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Strathairn, Judy Parfitt, John C. Reilly and Christopher Plummer.

It's very well shot by Gabriel Beristain, using locations in Canada to evoke the New England setting perfectly, Danny Elfman's score is very different from his normal output in Tim Burton's films, sounding much more evocative and melancholy, and Mark Warner's editing delivers consistent and appropriate pace while upping the tempo for the few action-oriented sequences.

It's a film which deals with serious issues in a mature way, never feeling exploitative or uncaring. For the subtext on the position of women in society and, particularly, how they are affected by employment opportunities and abusive relationships, it can easily be described as a feminist piece, though I don't know if that was Stephen King's intention; it's not mentioned by Taylor Hackford on the commentary track.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Innocent Blood (1992) ★★★★

This could lazy be described as a variation on An American Werewolf in London, perhaps A French Vampire in New York, but that would be doing the film a huge injustice.

Yes, it's a horror-comedy involving an outsider who is a reluctant killer, the supernatural, and law enforcement's efforts to find them, but there's more. Instead of the protagonist becoming 'cursed', it's a case of the 'killer with a conscience' unwittingly creating the antagonist: a borderline invincible mob boss with a taste for blood!

Anne Parillaud (best known for La Femme Nikita) is really good in the lead, but the film succeeds because of the stellar surrounding cast which includes several actors who would go on to appear in The Sopranos: Robert Loggia, Anthony LaPaglia, Don Rickles, Elaine Kagan, David Proval, Rocco Sisto, Chazz Palminteri, Kim Coates, Marshall Bell, Tony Sirico, Tony LipLuis Guzmán, and Angela Bassett, plus cameos from Frank Oz, Linnea Quigley, Tom Savini, Sam Rainey, and Dario Argento.

It's a jet black comedy, one which blends elements of horror, comedy, and the gangster film really well, and is a film I wish I'd seen years ago.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Days of Thunder (1990) ★★★½

It may basically be Top Gun on four wheels with a surprisingly clichéd and derivative script from Robert Towne, the writer of Chinatown's brilliant screenplay. However, it is superbly shot and edited, the sound design and editing can't be faulted, making the racing sequences are genuinely exciting and engrossing.

Additionally, I like the relationship between Robert Duvall's grizzled engineer and Tom Cruise's talented yet vulnerable race car driver. Though the relationship between Cruise and Kidman surprisingly doesn't have the same chemistry he had with Kelly McGillis in Top Gun, they are both good to watch and fairly plausible in their roles.

[Graveyard]

There is Sand & Sharks you cannot go wrong with this. For B fans and people that like to have a good time.

[Demoncrat]

Madman (1981, Joe Giannone)

My goodness this was old school. It almost reminded me of a conveyor belt cough. A real bunch of ... counsellors this lot .
In an opening speech that would have him on a register now, we get the legend of a local looney setting the scene ....
The usual near 30 year olds masquerading as "teens" and we are all set.
If only the lovely print hadn't shown up the villain's mask cough, I would have loved it more.

[bleakshaun]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Death Wish 3 (1985)

A gentle rom-com from the prolific Michael Winner in which Charles Bronson takes a Browning Machine Gun to the street punks of Brooklyn.

A classic exploiter that continues to thrill.

easily my favourite of the series

[MrBarlow]

Mutator. 1989.

A testing lab experiment goes wrong involving cats which creates havoc, Scientist turned security expert is called in to deal with the problem, a group of three activists including the lab director's daughter who goes against her father's work are locked in, can they all survive the night?

Another blind watch with a plot that is not new, a corporation creates a life form, escapes and goes on a killing spree, it's nice to see Brion James take the lead as the somewhat mercenary and a protagonist as he seemed to be in bad guy roles. There isn't much gore but make up effects are decent, it does take a while before we see the mutated offspring of the feline which I felt done the film justice instead of showing it at the beginning, not a big budget film but worth a watch.

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[gag]

Originally Posted by John Matrix

It's definitely an absolute love it or hate it film, but I've always liked it, always found it creepy and scary and quite unique for it's time.
I'm sure there are plenty I just can't think of the now but there can't have been too many horror films where you actually see fu*k all in terms of the "bad guy"

Probably aware of this, but what they did was someone followed them and they weren't aware of this and did random things at night time when they were asleep so part of their fear was genuine.

[Nordicdusk]

image_12472673.jpg

On a busy New York subway four armed well organised men high jack a subway car with 17 hostages and demand a million dollars for their release. They give the city one hour to deliver the money or a hostage dies every minute after the hour. The thinking of the mayor and the city officials us votes if they save the hostages but also when the money is handed over no one expects them to be able to escape the tunnel so it should be a win win situation.

What a superb film this is its compelling and tense and that cast is fantastic but amongst the great cast the stand out for me is Robert Shaw he is so calm cool and collected the rest of his crew are all different with one trigger happy mad to kill anyone that breaths funny one is quite but on edge and the last is 100% sure is going to die which comes from a mixture of the heist and the flu he is suffering from. Everything just works here tension excitement and a scene that really took me by surprise which made Robert Shaws character even more badass which was pretty shocking. I felt that ending was really the cherry on top of a very delicious cake.

9/10