What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Paganini Horror (1989)

Paganini Horror concerns a struggling female rock band who buy a piece of sheet music from Donald Pleasence who claims the music was written by the great composer / violinist Paganini but never released. Believing they have a hit on their hands the band hire a famous music video producer and head out to a secluded country estate to produce a video. However it seems Paganini is not so dead and returns from the grave in his best Phantom of the Opera get up and all hell breaks loose.

When i say hell i mean strange lights, cheap eighties video effects, comtinuity chaos and low budget gore. Directed by Luigi Cozzi this is a sheet film about sheet music. The acting and dialogue is horrendous - i would blame the English dubbing but the Italian sound track is probably worse - what Pleasence and Daria Nicolodi are doing in this i'll never know - Cozzi sadly brings them down to his level rather than them elevating this above the wretched. It doesn't help that the music the band play every so often (at length) sounded dated back in the 80's never mind 2021.

The script is badly written too, i'm sure Cozzi was hoping Paganini Horror would be his Suspiria but all he seemed to get right was some pretty cool red lighting... the thing is... i sort of enjoyed it. There's something about the sheer brass balls of Italian movie making, even when it's utter dross, that captures my imagination. It's as if Cozzi and co knew what they were making stunk but did it anyway because they knew thirty years down the line an idiot like me would buy it on Blu-ray.

Just to cap it all. Paganini Horror is the worst Blu-ray i've ever seen quality wise. The image is soft and the speech has that hiss to it usually heard on old black and white films that haven't been restored. 88 Films have given this celluloid cesspit the release it deserves.

½ / 5

[Justin101]

I’ve been meaning to pick that one up, let’s just say that your review hasn’t put me off hah…

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I’ve been meaning to pick that one up, let’s just say that your review hasn’t put me off hah…

Good. It wasn't meant to put folk off.

Might go with Fragasso's Beyond Darkness tonight for that real cocktail of Italian quality.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Good. It wasn't meant to put folk off.

Might go with Fragasso's Beyond Darkness tonight for that real cocktail of Italian quality.

I see 'Paganini' as quite a good companion to Cozzi's 'Black Cat', which you seemed to enjoy the other day. Maybe it's not quite as weird, but it has the same idiot-value, and of course Donald Pleasance looking flustered and perplexed.
I really like 'Beyond Darkness', but it's not very good at all. I'm just addicted to the look and feel of that period of Italo horror, when it was all fizzling out. The 88 Blu looks at least as soft as 'Paganini Horror' btw. I think they're all like that, I'm not aware of Severin's transfer being any kind of improvement really.

[Frankie Teardrop]

PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND – N Cage seems to gravitate towards strange, over-the-top films latterly. ‘Mandy’, ‘The Color Out of Space’ etc etc, they’re all a bit bananas and quite visually striking. Sion Sono is at the directorial helm, so already you have an inkling of the kind of territory we might be heading for. Well, it’s a freaky film for sure and again the visual opulence is what strikes you first. POTG’s bustling sets seem to belong to a western replanted in a time-clash multiverse full of doll people and crowds that are always on the brink of bursting into song, one long stampede of weirdness with Cage leading the dance. At one point I was reminded of that old Rod Hull and Emu skit in the Pink Windmill, where he’s followed around by all those people chanting ‘There’s somebody at the door… there’s somebody at the door…” Don’t know what I’m on about? Well f*ck off and watch this instead then, but I can’t guarantee what kind of time you’ll have – ‘Prisoners Of the Ghostland’ is an impressive and operatic display, but for all its vivid presence and intensity it lacks Sono’s hallmark ‘offness’ (there in spades in, say, ‘Love Exposure’ or ‘Exte’).

[Dave Boy]

Whats-Up-Doc-UK-Q-1972-scaled-500x374.jpg
"WHAT'S UP, DOC?" (1972)

A mix up of four identical cases causes mayhem in this excellent 'screwball' comedy. This movie never lets up. Every moment there is a verbal or visual gag on screen. It actually gets exhausting it is so relentless.
This is certainly the best of the 70s 'screwball' revival movies.

[SymbioticFunction]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Candyman. 2021

Finally got round to seeing this and wasn't what I expected it to be, yeah it is a sequel to the original with two characters returning and a mentioning of Helen Lyle. With Candyman supposedly based on the urban legend of Cabrini Green, seems like someone else's back story maybe a urban legend.

What this lacks is the suspense as the film goes on and tension that the first one had and very little jump scares. We do see Candyman but just seems to be from a distant and in shadow form but one up close scene, blink and miss it. There is a decent build up to the main characters but seems to go on and off the rails a bit, no harm in another re-watch.

Attachment 238176

I rewatched Candyman Farewell To The Flesh the other day. That had quite a few jump scares. Unfortunately none of them worked, they all fell flat.

[SymbioticFunction]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Tomorrow Never Dies.

I know I went through the Bond movies last year but I think at Christmas time there should be one or two Bond films watched.

Pierce makes his second mark as the British government agent along with Chinese agent Michelle Yeoh, both targeting media mogul Jonathan Pryce, who uses his brain and network news as his weapon plus a stealth boat to create World War III almost. From the start right up to the end, the plot gets better and better, the acting between M and the Navy General is always a laugh to watch.

Attachment 238155

I actually think the Pierce Brosnan Bond era is the one that has aged the worst. Having said that, Tomorrow Never Dies is very enjoyable and for me, the best of the Brosnan films. btw Perhaps I might rate Goldeneye higher if it didn't have an awful soundtrack?

[MacBlayne]

Sorry for being MIA for over a month. Some life changes over here. Hope to come back when things settle.

Just popping in to wish everybody a Merry Christmas, and a happy Die Hard viewing.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Merry Christmas, Mac.