What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Handyman Joe]

Kiss Me Deadly - Every so often you see a film that makes you re-evaluate everything you thought you knew - this is such a movie. It's insane in a way I did't realise 1950s film noirs could be. It's like a complete deconstruction of the genre: the endless dead ends, surreal twists, random acts of violence. Alex Cox puts it brilliantly - the tough guy's world becomes increasingly complex and convoluted and ultimately meaningless. I gave up following the plot about halfway and just enjoyed the dialogue ('can someone open a window?' a cop says as our 'hero' exits the room) and the random nature of the scenes, which could really be placed in any order. In short it's a must see - and you get to find out what was in Pulp Fiction's suitcase and Repo Mans trunk!

[Frankie Teardrop]

JUST BEFORE DAWN - I forgot how haunting and atmospheric this early eighties backwoods horror is. It's been ages since I last saw it, and I kind of wrote it off as being slow and a bit boring, but this time I was really struck by its murky, oppressive ambience. Jeff Liebermann's direction has a claustrophobic quality, and the score is amazing, like 70s German trance music when they just got hold of sequencers. The opening credit sequence sends a shiver down my spine. An eerie classic.

[Wes]

Frankie, I wanted to like this movie but I was cold on it – I wrote about Squirm and Blue Sunshine on my blog and planned to do Just Before Dawn but I could not write anything positive about it and I never went with the review. I just thought it was formulaic and indistinguishable from other campsite massacre films...

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Wes

Frankie, I wanted to like this movie but I was cold on it – I wrote about Squirm and Blue Sunshine on my blog and planned to do Just Before Dawn but I could not write anything positive about it and I never went with the review. I just thought it was formulaic and indistinguishable from other campsite massacre films...

A few years ago I thought the same. I don't know quite what captivated me about it this time around, but it felt really heavily textured and full of forboding and because of all this seemed much more interesting on second viewing. I really like that grim seriousness of tone you got with that kind of material before later in the eighties it was played for laughs. And I've never disliked a Jeff Lieberman movie, wish he'd made more.

[mercury]

Prometheus...Visually stunning, Naoomi Rapice was super hot, but for me there was some unanswered questions(maybe I missed some things). Overall not the epic I thought it was going to be

[piraterob]

Just watched this and not sure what to think of it. I have never heard or seen Coffin Joe films so didnt understand it to start but some flashback scenes caught me up with that. after that though it still got confusing at times, such as why he had so many followers to start with and how a mass muderer would get released so early to start with. I will say there a few impressive gore scenes if you like that sort of thing as well as a few wtf moments such as a cheese covered rat insertion!

[keirarts]

Just back from the film SINISTER. Really enjoyed this one.

As the film was starting a bunch of teens further back were sat gossiping and I felt annoyed thinking I was going to have to come across as the bad guy for telling them to shut the F**k up. (why do people come to the cinema just to chat through a film or social network on their phones) Suddenly the grainy 8mm footage of the family suspended from the tree slowly being hung came on the screen and the teens shut the hell up and stayed quiet for the rest of the movie!

Sinister is not an out-and-out scarefest like its advertised but it is damn creepy all the way through and goes for a sense of absolute dread rather than screaming panic. Kudos to Christopher Young for his score which does a lot for the film and is probably some of his best work, very low key, industrial moody sounds, fantastic. Ethan Hawke does a marvellous job with his role making his morally grey character sympathetic despite some of his really poor behaviour to his family. Finally the 8mm footage of the family murders is very creepy and the fleeting glances of the killer are far more scary than the end reveal which is one of the few dissapointing moments in an otherwise solid horror movie.

[Rik]

Watched a couple of my purchases from CEX this morning today while cracking on with some assignment work.
First up was the excellent Frailty starring and directed by everyone's favourite annoying older brother Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe. For those that haven't seen it, here's the summary from IMDb FBI agent Wesley Doyle is startled by the spontaneous declaration of youngster Fenton Meiks about how his father's delusions to have a divine mission as avenging angel required him and his brother Adam to become his 'demon-slaying' murder accomplices. And how hard an dangerously revolting proved. But when Doyle accepts to be shown concealed victim graves, the plot twists in the present just as gruesomely.
I'd only seen it once before when it was first released so the twist at the end was a bit of a shock to me, highly recommended and a steal at 50p!

Next up was the updated version of 'Salem's Lot from 2004 starring Rob Lowe, Bobby from the Hills Have Eyes remake, Donald Sutherland and Rutger Hauer.
I liked it, it is more faithful to Kings masterpiece but that doesn't mean it's better than the Tobe Hooper adaption. I think I prefer the older of the two's depiction of Barlow, he looks far scarier in a kind of Max Schreck sort of way than Rutger Hauer looking like, well Rutger Hauer and the infamous "bedroom window" scene was far scarier in the Hooper version. Recommended if found cheap, but if you only want one then stick with the Hooper version.

[oaxaca]

Just about to stick on Renato Polselli's BLACK MAGIC RITES (AKA THE REINCARNATION OF ISABEL). I've wanted to see this since I was a teenager... Those lurid Redemption VHS covers always did intrigue me but I never got around to seeing any. But, luckily, all these new Kino/Redemption releases on BD will allow me to put that to rights

[SShaw]

ACAB - All Cops Are Bastards - I read about this in the programme for Fantasy Film Fest and decided to give it a chance. Its an effective and violent look at the life of 4 men working within a team of Italian riot police. Recommended.