What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

The House Where Evil Dwells. 1982.

In Japan, a samurai master kills his wife and liver in a house, 200 years later a American writer, his wife and daughter move into the same house and become tormented by the ghosts.

What appears to be a decent ghost story and seems to be a original idea for The Grudge movie (original and not the recent release) this should have been something decent. I saw this ages ago and can't really remember much about it and now I know why. The plot has a good build up but sank, the effects are a bit laughable but go with ideas from other people's films to create the effect of ghosts on screen. The acting is mediocre to the point of nearly believable but can be put down to some quick writing that may have happened. The ending is pratically predictable that is the sense of de ja vu that happened in the film at the start. It's now on the seen it and remembered why I choose to forget it pile.


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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I like The House Where Evil Dwells. Keep hoping for a UK blu from someone like Powerhouse.

[nicholasrope]

Deadpool And Wolverine

Deadpool's Universe is under threat and he teams up with Wolverine in order to save it. They bicker a lot and there are some interesting cameos as well as a great scroll along fight scene, but I wasn't totally in love with it. Probably wasn't in the mood to see it but felt that I had to get it out of the way.

Ong Bak: The Beginning

Prequel to Ong Bak that sees Tony Jaa both Act And Direct in a Film about a boy seeking to get revenge on the people who murdered his parents. Lots of training sequences but I found it to be quite boring, kinda seen it all before kind of thing.

Blue Chips

Nick Nolte is a College Basketball Coach who after his 1st losing season, has a mental battle with himself on whether to break rules other teams are doing or keep things honest. Very interesting take on the sports movie which dwells on whether it's unethical to break rules or it's providing things to the players who deserve to get paid.

Lean On Me

Morgan Freeman is the tough Headmaster sent to sort out a tough, underperforming School. His methods aren't popular but gets the job done. Freeman is mesmerizing as well as Robert Gullaume. Tony Todd has a small role as a Security Guard. Based on a True Story, it kept me entertained.

Turk 182

When his Brother is denied benefits after a injury, his Brother played by Timothy Hutton irritates the Mayor by using graffiti and other methods in order to stop is re-election. Kim Cattrell and Peter Boyle co-star in a really fun Film which is different to what I normally watch.

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Samuel L. Jackson is a Teacher who after getting Stabbed in School is sent to another tough school, where he makes enemies with members of a gang. Kelly Rowan and John Heard co-star. This was written by a Teacher so I'm getting their insights I'm assuming. In a way it's nothing that I haven't seen before but 3 quarters in, there's a whodunit storyline and a ending that's new to this kind of Film.

Back in the day I would see this around in sales but there was always something else, Rental as well. I thought this would have been around as a DVD and/or Blu-Ray in the UK but alas it seemed to slip through the cracks, so I got the Polish DVD from Amazon. Anyway whilst 10 minutes too long, it was decent.

Reality Bites

Gen Z Film which sees the lives of a group of College Students who recently Graduated and what happens next. This is one of those Films that I wanted to love but it just didn't reach those heights. Great Soundtrack.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Bohemian Rhapsody is something of a curate's egg, ultimately feeling mediocre. While the film celebrates Queen's music brilliantly, capturing the energy and essence of their iconic songs, it falls short in providing a faithful and accurate portrayal of the band's history. Queen undoubtedly deserved a biopic with fewer annoying historical inaccuracies and a more authentic narrative.

I have now watched the film three times and the inaccuracies have annoyed me more with each viewing. The whole scene with Freddy Mercury playing Carmen in the manager's office (an unrecognisable and bizarrely cast Mike Meyers) to explain A Night at the Opera felt particularly contrived given that the album was, like A Day at the Races, named after the Marx Brothers film of the same name, and the use of Who Wants to Live Forever around Freddie Mercury's AIDS diagnosis felt particularly strange, given that it was written by Brian May for Highlander, not in response to Mercury's illness.

Additionally, the split caused by Mercury's solo career was a complete fabrication, as was the 'reunion' in 1985 for Live Aid; the other members of Queen were apparently happy for Mercury to record solo material and it didn't stop them recording and touring. As Roger Taylor and Brian May recall in one of the bonus features, part of the reason they were so successful at Wembley was because they had recently played in big South American football stadiums, so Mercury was used to trying to reach the back of the venue and have everyone clapping and singing along with him.

I have enjoyed and appreciated other films written by Peter Morgan, such as Frost/Nixon, Rush, The Damned United, and The Last King of Scotland, making this film something of an oddity in that respect. The reports of some cast members clashing with Bryan Singer, who was fired before principal photography completed and replaced by Dexter Fletcher, might have contributed to why it feels disjointed.

However, the performances by the actors playing Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor are convincing, bringing the band members' personalities and dynamics to life with a fine array of costumes and wigs, with some clothing belonging to their real-life counterparts. Despite Rami Malek's commendable effort, his portrayal of Freddie Mercury doesn't quite capture the legendary frontman's complexity and charisma as effectively as one might hope.

Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody is an enjoyable watch for its music and certain standout sections, particularly the final recreation of the Live Aid performance but, on three occasions now, it's left me wishing for a more accurate and comprehensive biographical film.

[SymbioticFunction]

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

I did like this but I didn't love it, would probably award 3.5/5. There's a ton of green screen and cgi in this (and sometimes that cgi looked quite iffy). It reminds me of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels because of that, I think that's probably the last time it was employed quite so much. Things also aren't helped by (an excellent) Chris Hemsworth wearing a rather fake looking false nose.

I get that Fury Road had over 2000 cgi effects but it mostly seemed to be used to augment a lot of practical work. Fury Road looks much more real. That could also be down to the prior Mad Max movies looking more gritty than Furiosa which tends to have a bit of a sleek over polished visual look. Unfortunately the replacement lead actress also looks like a bit like a strong wind might blow her over.

Despite those strong complaints, there's still a lot of George Miller creativity on display and there are some genuinely exciting set-pieces (although unfortunately not more exciting than Fury Road). There's a road warrior character called Praetorian Jack which somewhat makes up for feeling the almost complete lack of Max. It also very probably makes for a good two parter with Fury Road.

I think the good does outweigh the bad so I will still pick up a copy next month. At first I was annoyed that Warner Bros no longer includes a blu-ray in the UK's 4K UHD packages but I've decided that I'll just be content to add a 1080p Furiosa copy to my Mad Max collection.

[MrBarlow]

Project: Metalbeast. 1995.

A unhinged C.I.A. operative injects himself with blood taken from a werewolf and on goes on a killing spree. He is shot and frozen. 20 years later scientists thaw him out and goes on the hunt again.

Made on a low budget and very much tongue in cheek sci-fi/horror, I had no high hopes for this one even starring Barry Bostwick and Kane Hodder putting on the werewolf costume which I may add does look good and decent. The film does have a few "what the heck" moments but lacks any tense moments and being in a building with a wild beast doesn't give off any claustrophobia or atmospheric vibes. The pacing is a bit all over the place, fast, slow then at a snails pace. I'm still in two minds to give it another re-watch at some point.

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[Frankie Teardrop]

THE DEVIL'S BATH - I don't imagine the life of the average 18th century Austrian peasant was a laugh a minute, but anyone who does at least has 'The Devil's Bath' to put them right. It's a gruelling trawl through the world of Agnes, who lives in a tiny woodland village where survival is predicated on the blind acceptance of ritual and obligation; who wouldn't heed the call of madness? A real sackcloth-and-ashes slow burn that will look lovely as it snuffs out your sunny afternoon. From the makers of 'Goodnight Mommy' and 'The Lodge'.

SANTET - Eighties Indonesian horror from the director of 'Satan's Slave' and many others. Suzanna is Katemi, a villager who takes supernatural revenge after the local mobster murders her honey. Tonal swerves and shonky digressions can go either way for me; in this case, I thought 'Santet' fell back on comedy interludes and talk about local politics too often for comfort. But... there are many highlights, including a human-headed crocodile, a humorous breast-rip(!), and wounds crawling with worms, a pile-up of sorcerous practical effects that nearly grabs centre stage. And I was transfixed by the musical number, in which a guy sings about being basically a decent guy looking for a job.

HOWLING 2 - I used to hate H2 with a vengeance! I don't know why really, I think I just felt it didn't live up to the first. It's certainly very different, more bothered about eighties style monstrosity, kinky werewolves and odd moments like the one when Christopher Lee gets thrown out of a punk club. It just kind of hits the silly switch and doesn't let up. I wouldn't think this blizzard of schlock and sleaze, whose spiritual essence is all there in that bit at the end where Sybil Danning rips her top off ad infinitum, could be bested for bizarre laughs by any other entry in the series had I not seen its companion piece, the also-by-Philippe-Mora-directed 'Howling 3'. I'll write about that one when I've recovered.

ASSASINATION NATION - A small American town erupts into violence after a social media witch hunt pins the blame for a series of hacks on a high school student - she takes up arms against the mob. Comes on like a like a vaguely Greg Araki-influenced look at sassy yoot facing a gradually dawning apocalypse and ends up a Trump-era version of 'The Cull' with more mobile phones and texting. Sam Levinson piles on the mannerism and a fair bit of violence. Liked more than I intended.

[MrBarlow]

They Bite. 1992.

Oh boy where to begin with this one, Roger Corman was a legend in his own way by making memorable movies on a budget the way Mario Bava would do. So we got some wannabe movie maker hoping to turn a film into a remake, happens all the time in the sweet land of Hollywood. This is a remake of Humanoids From The Deep, I had no high hopes for this when Ron Jeremy's name appeared in the credits and I was right. A mix of sci-fi, horror and comedy and to add in the mix a bit of porn and some good effects when a woman's *whistles* turns into a monster while riding a guy, that was pretty cool. Nobody outdoes anyone with the acting, it's all pretty laughable from start to finish.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Flesh and Blood Show (1972)

A anonymous producer assembles a group of actors to be in a play, rehearsing in an abandoned theatre beside the sea before heading off on a national tour. However before long the cast are soon being killed off one by one.

One of director Pete Walker's less celebrated efforts but it's a film i really like. More slasher than Walker's usual kitchen sink horror grittishness, the film plays like an earlier version of Benatti's The Killer Reserved Nine Seats or Soavi's Stage Fright, although this is my preferred film. Walker also weaved elements of his sexploitation films into the mix here culminating in an often sleazy piece of British exploitation.

The Flesh and Blood Show was the first film where Walker had the main protagonist or killer as an older person. Something he would employ to even greater effect in films such in later films.

The film has a great cast of familiar faces from the period - Ray Brooks, Robin Askwith and Patrick Barr immediately spring to mind as well as a fine array of leading ladies in Jenny Hanley, Luan Peters, Judy Matheson and Candace Glendenning.

The 88 Films Blu-ray looks exceptional at times and the 3D segment at the end far better realised than i was expecting having seen it previously as an extra on the Odeon dvd.

[SymbioticFunction]

Every Sunday I choose a film whilst my wife is at work. Today was Tomorrow Never Dies, for my money the best Brosnan James Bond by a mile. There's fresh imaginative action sequences, I like the idea of a media mogul being the villain and it's cool that it's set in China again. For my money, Michelle Yeoh's one of the best Bond girls and it's got a great score by David Arnold where you get to hear the Bond theme being used a lot (never will understand why Eon stopped using Arnold). Also the movie opening is badass. Great fun, my only complaint would be that the Sheryl Crow song is a bit lacklustre.