What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[unrealbe]

I just saw Piranha 3DD.

I wrote a not-quite review, more just a lot of thoughts here:
Underrated Movies: Piranha 3DD (2012)

[SShaw]

just got back to my hotel after a double bill of Room 237 and The Shining. The former is a funny look at five slightly off the wall interpretations of Kubricks film (more later). The latter should need no comment!

[wonderlust]

Cold Fish
The Lair of the White Worm

[Frankie Teardrop]

THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS - I thought this was excellent. The fact that it's very dialogue driven is mentioned a lot in reviews, as is a sort of Pinteresque quality, but what it has going for more than anything is an immersive atmosphere and some quite harrowing moments, with sound playing a central role. There are surface similarities to 'Kill List' ie gangsters are present and devil related stuff happens, but really this is a very different movie, although the two do share a sense of impending dread. Billy Clarke gives an absolutely great performance as the hit man charged with offing a satanic associate of his boss. I was mesmerised by his face / expression - an utterly haunted, frozen mask throughout that finally breaks and gives way to fear during the existentially soul raking last act. It's not perfect, there are some minor false moves, but I found it never less than facinating for the most part, and, unlike some, really liked the transition to a more trashy, obvious kind of horror in the final reel (demonic homunculus kid bites throat etc). Highly recommended.

[demonknight]

Watched SF's collectors ed of Halloween 2 dvd last night. Not the biggest fan of the movie,but the dvd transfer was first class as were the extras.

[mercury]

Rambo 3
Final Destination 5

[James Morton]

Michael Winner's SCREAM FOR HELP - a fun thriller, not one of Winner's best but has some violence and sexy scenes
i remember seeing this film on video on the old Heron label back in the 80's
got this on a dvd-r with vhs-like transfer
unfortunately no dvd exists and would be great if this was released officially with a Winner commentary esp as he liked the film as in an interview in Fangoria

[g053584398]

Originally Posted by Wes

Absolutely, well said

I have a copy of Kinski's book and interestingly, he mentions an incident from the Aguirre shoot where Herzog supposedly has a llama tied to a raft heading for rapids. Kinski expresses his hated for the "murderous Herzog" but of course no such scene is in the film. Perhaps the scene was trimmed but who can say. Herzog claims that Kinski filled the book with scandals to make it a best seller. It's certainly lively...

I would love to get hold of a copy of Kinski's autobiography. From what I understand it is a rather lively read! I can also recommend Evil Spirits: The Life of Oliver Reed.

From what I gather Oliver Reed once worked on a film with Klaus Kinski and the latter was, as often seemed to be the case, causing mayhem. An actress, whose name I can't recall, asked Reed why he didn't confront Kinski; with Reed being known to be a rather forthright and powerful individual. Reed explained that since he believed Kinski to be crazy, he really didn't want to get involved.

[Delirium]

I've got the Kinski book and it is indeed 'lively'. 'Mad as a proverbial' is another way to put it, as it's like reading the ravings of a raging egomaniac and sexoholic. Seriously, if the book's to be believed, he has his dick in someone more often than in his pants..

Great read though.

Oh, and latest films:

Sinister (cinema) - Disappointing Insidious-a-like horror with bog standard scares and clichés abound. You know exactly where it's going and most (save one or two) of the shocks are cheap.

Killing Them Softly (cinema) - Much better than expected. A grim, gritty, misanthropic crime thriller with a fine cast and a bitter political edge. Has a real zinger of an ending speech.

Being There (Blu) - Terrific Hal Ashby film starring Peter Sellers as a well mannered, gentle man, living an isolated existence with TV being his only link to the outside world - until he is forced into a society that finds his simplicity and directness both endearing and profound.

[Frankie Teardrop]

THE PACT - Well made, pretty intense ghost / haunting type movie which, whilst it doesn't quite avoid the usual let-downs (ie standard, over-dramatic music cues), is at least by no means the worst offender, and features a thoughtfully creepy back story. I liked the long, still shots of scenes in the house - they added to the sense of spooky imminence - and nice characters and vignettes ie protag's blind, psychic high school buddy (yeah, I know), who seems to live in a weird shooting gallery / record shop / industrial noise installation.
THE SLAYER - An old favourite, although I don't know why in some ways - perhaps I've learned to kid myself that the drawn out scenes of people wandering around on a beach are about 'atmosphere' rather than 'boredom'. Whatever, I keep on coming back to it after all these years. I always feel a bit cheated when I watch it, but then again there are some good bits - the genuinely bleak island setting, the odd moments of gore, the ethereally pretty lead and the pre-Elm Street dream murder angle. There's also a recurring shot of a poster which looks like it's framed to seem significant in some way, a weird enigma that keeps me awake at nights sometimes. I really should invest in more porn. 'The Slayer' could've been something other than what it is, but, like I say, it's one of those movies that works a strange magic on me, despite a lack of real delivery - I daresay we've all encountered this kind of thing along the way. I know that quite a few fans would love CR or someone to release a comprehensive version, but every time I revist my shitty Vipco disc I'm surprised to find that it doesn't look TOO bad.