What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[gag]

Beetlejuice beetlejuice,

Its fun quirky and entertaining but doesn't quite hit the mark as the original, plenty of clips that'll make you smile but lack the part that makes you chuckle.. I also felt odd time they was trying a tadge too much, A worth sequel but not one you will watch as much as the original, 7 out of 10.

[Justin101]

RE Zodiac and the Theatrical vs Director's cut, the DC only extends the film by around 4 mins and it's just extended scenes/conversations. The DC is the only version available on Blu. I think it's a fantastic film and one which I've seen numerous times. It's definitely worth a rewatch.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

ZODIAC - Few Killers have played the media like The Zodiac. All those cryptic proclamations and pages full of ciphers must've seemed like something from a movie in the first place. If mysterious true crime is always magnetic, David Fincher's 'Zodiac' shows there's a price to be paid by those who get wrapped up in that stuff. It's probably my favourite of his films to date - I like the way it uses the case not as the springboard for a semi-slasher style enterprise a la 'Se7en', nor even a procedural as such, but to frame a slow trawl through the damage inflicted by obsession. The three principal characters - cartoonist Jake Gyllenhal, journo Robert Downey JR and tec Mark Ruffalo - are laser-focussed on outwitting Zodiac and getting to the bottom of the case. But the case is bottomless, and rather than uniting in the manner of the heroes of a slightly unorthodox buddy cop thriller, all three men fall into despair and ruin, collateral victims of the forever unknown. Beyond all the talk (it's very dialogue-heavy), Fincher's stylistics conjure an air of descent and slowly simmering dread as the film arcs through the shifting seasons.

Excellent review, Frankie. Zodiac is one of my favourite David Fincher films as well, probably the most mature film he had made at that time, and one that has stood up to many viewings over the years, on DVD and Blu-ray, and both the theatrical and director's cut.

Like you say, it's a film about obsession and the three main actors (Gyllenhaal, Ruffalo, and Downey Jr) are superb, utterly convincing. They are helped by a fine script and brilliant work by the art department as everything from the costumes to the hair and make-up, from the production design to the visual effects, all re-create the period perfectly. Fincher is a director who seems to revel in the look of his films as everything he's made has a great sense of style, whether it's worldbuilding (Alien 3), an urban nightmare (Se7en), or evoking a state of hyper-reality (Fight Club).

It does reward time and attention, and you probably get out of the film what you put into it - if you are distracted or sleepy, it wouldn't be as engaging or disturbing as it would be if watching it with your complete focus and without any distractions.

[nicholasrope]

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Jack Nicholson gets himself sent to a Mental Hospital but runs into a rather mean Nurse (Played brilliantly by Louise Fletcher) therefore a battle of wills ensues. Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd c0o-star. It's a good film but I'm not in love with it. It's more of a performance based film really.

Afraid

John Choo and his family are selected to test a AI system that ends up controlling them. This is like Megan and it's a film that just appeared out of nowhere and quite frankly I was quite entertained by this one, doesn't do anything new but it's really short and one to maybe watch if it's on a streaming service.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Sequel to the 1988 film which is good in places but it isn't exactly the best film around. You've got some returning characters (With a rather creative way of dealing with a problematic one) and some newer ones also (Maybe too many) it's a rather strong 12A however

[gag]

Originally Posted by nicholasrope

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Jack Nicholson gets himself sent to a Mental Hospital but runs into a rather mean Nurse (Played brilliantly by Louise Fletcher) therefore a battle of wills ensues. Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd c0o-star. It's a good film but I'm not in love with it. It's more of a performance based film really.

Afraid

John Choo and his family are selected to test a AI system that ends up controlling them. This is like Megan and it's a film that just appeared out of nowhere and quite frankly I was quite entertained by this one, doesn't do anything new but it's really short and one to maybe watch if it's on a streaming service.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Sequel to the 1988 film which is good in places but it isn't exactly the best film around. You've got some returning characters (With a rather creative way of dealing with a problematic one) and some newer ones also (Maybe too many) it's a rather strong 12A however

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sometimes I think the way they do it with soundtracks music in the background thinking they're being quirky kinda half ruins it, when she (I wont say who incase ppl haven't seen it ) comes back alive with staying alive in the background kinda makes it a bit naff and cheesy and corny, when it would have been better with music and sound from the actual film, if you get what I mean.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Nightwing (1979)

Nick Mancuso plays Youngman Duran, a deputy on a Hopi Indian reservation in New Mexico, investigating a series of mysterious cattle mutilations. Hindered by the tribal council who are intent on selling out their forefathers land to an oil company he finds help when he meets a British scientist (David Warner) who is also investigating the now escalating killing spree.

An oft derided film which i actually find hugely enjoyable. That mix of western, native American mythology and eco horror usually does it for me (See Prophecy from the same year for similar themes which i also love) and even FX maestro Carlo Rambaldi's dodgy creature effects (Someone should have told Rambaldi that bats fly incredibly quick and not in slow-mo) don't spoil the enjoyment of what is a beautifully photographed film with it's suspenseful sub plots and David Warner giving it his best Van Helsing rendition.

The Eureka Blu-ray has a gorgeous image quality that really shows off those desert landscapes.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Shadow of the Hawk (1976)

A young reporter stumbles upon Chief Dan George's tribal shaman in an LA hospital and agrees to help him find his grandson and then get home to his people before they are sacrificed by the evil Dzunukwa - an ancient ogress - and her followers.

An enjoyable road movie that burrows itself in the sands of native American mythology, shot in British Columbia the film looks great and has some inspiring set pieces including the crossing of an old rope bridge whilst under attack from the deity's creatures.

Jan-Michael Vincent and Marilyn Hassett may be the hero and heroine of the film but it's the wonderful Chief Dan George who we are all here to see and he gives a magnificent performance of restraint and tribal power as moody looks take the place of a hundred lines of dialogue, whilst Dzunukwa cuts a terrifyingly creepy figure when it appears in the forests.

This is on the same Eureka Blu-ray double bill as Nightwing (1979) and they complement each other perfectly both dealing with similar yet differing aspects of Native American folklore.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Scalps (1983)

A cheap and cheerful tale of a bunch of college types who go out into the desert to seek Native American artifacts only found in sacred places, setting up this tale of possession by Indian spirits of those who desecrate their burial grounds.

For a 75 minute film (plus end credits) it's almost criminal that nothing of note happens until almost the hour mark. We have endless scenes of chatter, camping, archeology, more camping, a lot of driving and trekking the desert, but that's pretty much it. What prevents it all from becoming boring is the rather eerie atmosphere created thanks to a delicious soundtrack of nightmarish ambience.

We do have one scalping scene. It's gory and kind of worth the wait and thankfully the finale is a nightmarish world of shamanic sacrifice and murder.

[Frankie Teardrop]

HELL'S TRAP - Two warring guys decide the best way to prove who's dominant is to go into the woods and slay a bear! I was relieved when said 'bear' turned out to be a post-'Nam mask-wearing psycho with a Freddie Kruger glove and an AK. 'Hell's Trap' is, if you hadn't guessed, a melange of well-worn genre tropes and incorporates bits of backwoods horror, slasher and eighties-style action into its not particularly mind-expanding repertoire. It's fun while it lasts and pacey enough, but you might've been hoping for something as out of kilter as the director's 'Vacation Of Terror 2'.

TRASH HUMPERS - Harmony Korine strokes the foul underbelly of America's Midwest once again in 'Trash Humpers', in which a trio of old people / younger people in masks (it's impossible to know which) wander from scene to scene breaking things and occasionally doing murders. That's kind of a sideline though, their favourite activity is clearly f*cking garbage and other inanimate objects. The medium here is as grotty as the message, shit-smeared VHS that really does recall the feeling of that sticky unmarked video you should've left alone on the back seat of the bus. In two minds about whether you could call it 'horror', but it's one of my favourite weirdo films from the last twenty years.

CRIMSON PEAK - Del Toro brings his lush sensibility to this sweeping Victorian Gothic, in which Mia Wasikowsa is seduced by English gent Tom Hiddleston whilst Jessica Chastain looks stern and shifty in the background. Can it be that I only saw it for the first time yesterday? Visually it's as breath taking as expected, overcrowded with ornament as it piles on melodrama laden with incest, hauntings and even, here and there, a bit of slasher. The towering monument at the centre of the film really is its own character, a tumbledown monstrosity that breathes the same air as The Overlook Hotel or Hill House.

RAIDERS OF THE LIVING DEAD - I think this might be one of those Godfrey Ho-style cut and shut jobs, for how else can I explain the leaps between small town undead murder mystery involving zombies and a derelict prison, and a subplot where a child deconstructs a CD player and reconstitutes it as a deadly laser weapon? Also, the Three Stooges keep cropping up. As tonally screwy as it sounds, but its take on the undead is weirdly evocative, full of shadowy Fulci-isms and vast abandoned buildings. Feels like 'Dead And Buried' recast as breezy nonsense, with a kid with a laser.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Quick question.

Whilst sorting my original movie posters to frame one as i managed to find a reasonably priced frame this week, i came across loads of cinema posters - basically the ones they gave away in various sizes in the 90's.

See photo as an example of a few. There are fifteen Tomorrow Never Dies ones in total.



Do cinemas still do this or is it a practice long gone?