What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Everest (2015)

Heart stopping true life story about two expeditions and their attempt to reach the summit of Everest in 1996, as a terrible storm approaches.

Fascinating, gripping and er' blood chilling account of a real event, thankfully without much fiction added as basically it just wasn't needed. You care for everyone and the large cast does well making each character both believable and involving despite not having much to work with in some cases.

What should have been a showcase of Blu-ray picture quality and 7:1 Dolby Atmos sound descends around the hour mark into a grueling stomach churning watch as the storm takes no prisoners and frozen bodies are left dying on the mountain where they remain to this day. Even third time round this has devastating emotional impact.

I need to watch a gruesome horror film now to cheer me the f*ck up.

[MrBarlow]

Mercenary Fighters. 1988.

A president of a African country is loosing the voting system and wants help from a band of "Mercs" to put it right and sort out the rebels and protesters.

Peter Fonda doning long hair and a ponytail comes in with his band out ex Veitnam Vets who are a gun for hire, cause a few things to stir up and then decide who's team should they be on. From a Cannonxpect very little and we get that except a decent shoot out at the end. I saw a trailer for this (under the title Freedom Fighters) and peaked my interest but the film itself wasn't that great for me, even though some familiar names appear in it.


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[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Everest (2015)

It is a gripping story and a fairly harrowing viewing experience. As you thought it was good, I highly recommend the similarly themed North Face, a German film based on the true story of a 1936 climbing expedition on the titular part of the Eiger Mountain.

I have the 4K Ultra HD release of Everest and the detailed picture, plus the expanded colour/contrast range with HDR is really striking, and the Dolby Atmos track is superb. I almost felt cold when watching it!

It's been a long time since I've seen it and there have been a few times when I felt like rewatching it, but something else took my attention. Your review has made me feel like making an effort to give it another viewing this weekend or next week.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

It is a gripping story and a fairly harrowing viewing experience. As you thought it was good, I highly recommend the similarly themed North Face, a German film based on the true story of a 1936 climbing expedition on the titular part of the Eiger Mountain.

I have the 4K Ultra HD release and the detailed picture, plus the expanded colour/contrast range with HDR is really striking, and the Dolby Atmos track is superb. I almost felt cold when watching it!

It's been a long time since I've seen it and there have been a few times when I felt like rewatching it, but something else took my attention. Your review has made me feel like making an effort to give it another viewing this weekend or next week.

Thanks for the suggestion, Nos.

Funnily enough i'd dug my dvd of North Face out to watch in the next few days as it was one i wondered about upgrading to Blu. I had no idea it had even come out on 4K. North Face seems quite an obscure film for a UK 4K release.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Thanks for the suggestion, Nos.

Funnily enough i'd dug my dvd of North Face out to watch in the next few days as it was one i wondered about upgrading to Blu. I had no idea it had even come out on 4K. North Face seems quite an obscure film for a UK 4K release.

Sorry, I was talking about the 4K Ultra HD release of Everest, which is very good. I have the North Face Blu-ray, which has very good picture quality and an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to immerse you in the climbers' experience.

[Frankie Teardrop]

DOOR – They go on about this being the first Japanese giallo, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. I’m not complaining. I’m no devotee of all that stuff and didn’t feel particularly stung by the lack of stale mystery. ‘Door’ is far more elliptical; hard angles, everything is concrete, the deathly sheen of modernity always closing in… I dunno, if Ballard did a slasher? A woman in a tower block fends off a salesman who insists on sticking his nose in; escalate to cat and mouse involving a small chainsaw. Though an aerial glide near the end feels like it might be a bravura moment in an Italian murder flick, ‘Door’s vibe is minimal and trancey. The first hour had me at full immersion – no melodrama, no big horror, just queasy suspension. What’s with the trash bag? It keeps coming back. ‘Door’ finds some room for the typical in its scenes of hide and seek, but even these feel mannered and somehow hazy. New to me, excellent and strange; this ‘Door’ has a ‘Way Out’ sign next to it for sure.

SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS – Onwards to an actual giallo, by Umberto Lenzi. I prefer his trashier moments – who can walk away from ‘Nightmare City’ without a little lift in their heart? ‘Eyeball’ too, from prior to his sleazo cannibal years, but what a romp, it just zings along not giving a shit that it’s high on its own silliness. SBSO isn’t like that. Lenzi keeps a tight leash on excess and bewilderment, enough for me to wonder whether I’d like it. My worries about it being another tepid detective yarn dolled up with a bit of pop art proved unfounded however, and I ended up a convert. For one thing, it’s pacy - there’s a leanness to it that sidesteps procedural drag (the real killer in so many gialli, boredom, is absent). Then there’s all the stuff I genuinely like about these films, the wild style and zany ornamentals, present in the slight overkill of zooms and a panoply of arty shots that make the people in them seem as if they’re talking in quotes – how else can one say anything whilst so artfully framed by those marble horse heads? Etc. The murky, stripped down psyche score sets such a nice mood. SBSO is perfunctory in plot and concept, but that’s not important. In a way, Lenzi is saying – “this is how to do a giallo” – and maybe he’s right.

[Demoncrat]

Blowback (2000, Mark L Lester)

Mario Van Peebles vs James Remar? Go on then ...
Sadly this one is a tad perfunctory. It all sounds crazed enough, shady governmental type resurrects serial killer etc, but it's just so flatly told. Shame. Next!!!



The Marvels (2023, Nia DaCosta)

Only watched this as I laughed my arse at the first. This though is a churning mess of poop. Stooopid movie. Even the schtick with the cat bored me this time. Meh.



The Satan Bug (1965, John Sturges)

Effective enough "panic" thriller, it's still not a patch on The Andromeda Strain imho. Someone's stolen a virus. Is it the commander from Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea? Hmmm. A film of its time, that played up to the paranoia of the period.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

The Satan Bug (1965, John Sturges)

Effective enough "panic" thriller, it's still not a patch on The Andromeda Strain imho. Someone's stolen a virus. Is it the commander from Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea? Hmmm. A film of its time, that played up to the paranoia of the period.

This one sounds interesting Demon, you have peaked my interest.

[MrBarlow]

Night Swim. 2024.

A family move into a new home with a pool and slowly uncover a dark secret about the house and pool.

I know a few will see the name Jason Blum and think the movie will not be that great, I can't really blame them as some films he has put out is shit, with co-producer James Wan I took a gamble on this with Annmarie to go to the cinema and it paid off well.

Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon (no not Condom) play the new arrivals with kids Amelie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren move into the house with a not so great looking pool at first but hey it's a fixer upper as you do with new places. There is a decent back story to the happy family that may be a bit sensitive to those who know someone suffering M.S.

There is a lot going on with a bit too much talky talky , certain bits do take time to build up to and does pay off with some decent jump scares added in (Annmarie and the couple few seat down jumped about 6 times) with plenty of decent acting even from the kids with good creative writing and direction from from Bryce McGuire who manages to create perfect timing. It's only 15 certificate rating but worth a watch.

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[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

The Marvels (2023, Nia DaCosta)

Only watched this as I laughed my arse at the first. This though is a churning mess of poop. Stooopid movie. Even the schtick with the cat bored me this time. Meh.

I was thoroughly entertained by The Marvels and was surprised it has such mixed reviews. I know it isn't the finest film in the MCU, but it neatly incorporated the female leads from the TV series WandaVision and Ms. Marvel to make a sequel to Captain Marvel which is both funny and emotionally engaging.

I thought Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel), Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau), and Iman Vellani (Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel) had excellent on-screen chemistry and bounced off each other – both literally and figuratively – very well, benefiting from some energetic and imaginative direction by Nia DaCosta.

In some respects, Vellani was the star of the show because she managed to upstage Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson. Kamala Khan is a little like the female version of Tom Holland's Peter Parker in his early Marvel films because he's almost overwhelmed by what's going on and is just happy to be involved with the world-famous superheroes in his life, so it's a similar relationship between Kamala Khan and Carol Danvers to the one between Peter Parker and Tony Stark/Iron Man.

I watched it with someone who hadn't seen Captain Marvel or Ms. Marvel and she loved it, choosing to go and watch it again later that week.

On an entertainment level, I thought it was a massive success, but on an objective level, I don't think it's a top-tier MCU film like Black Panther, Iron Man, or Avengers: Endgame, but it's one I thought had the right balance of comedy and pathos, drama and fantasy, and will stand up to repeated viewings.