What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

DEATHDREAM - AKA 'Dead Of Night'. 'Monkey's Paw' variant which sees an all American kid return from 'nam in sinister form. Despite some obvious moves, this remains a disturbing and in places quite poignant meditation on the collapse of the nuclear family. In some ways it's quite 'EC comics', but with the added dimension of interpersonal tragedy - somehow this is all summed up by the scenes at the drive in, which are quite emotionally wrenching.

THE PAPERBOY - I really liked this. It's set in Miami in 1969, and features a newspaper reporter who teams up with his college drop-out brother to investigate a man wrongly accused of murdering a sheriff. Nicole Kidman is involved as a death row fixated pen pal of said accused. I thought it was really mesmerising, and quite non-linear for a mainstreamish film - it drifts dreamily between hazy whimsy (Kidman pissing on Z Efron's jellyfish sting) and harsh brutality (reporter guy's one night stand goes wrong). Recommended.

MELANCHOLIA - Arthouse semi sci-fi from Von Trier. A depressed woman endures an abysmal wedding whilst a planet slowly journeys through space with intent to trash the Earth. It's divided into two segments, the first dealing with the wedding, the second focussing on the dynamics between depressed woman and her sister. I thought it was great, the wedding segment in particular, which, although nuanced, seethes with grim foreboding.

HELL ROLLER - Forgotten SOV trash from the early nineties. A disabled man loses his mother, then goes on a murderous rampage. Well, that's kind of what it's about, but plot doesn't really factor into it because after a minimal set up it fragments into a random collage of mild softcore, bad gore fx, random stabs at humour, scenes that appear to make no sense whatsoever, and outbursts of really awful nineties cheapo video effects (I have an inexplicable liking for latter, the shitter the better). In theory this could all add up to a psychotronic bad taste classic a la 'Black Devil Doll From Hell', but that's all too clearly what the 'filmmakers' had in mind - you can't force that kind of outsider genius. Still, I was really into at least three quarters of it - unfortunately, the grating humour sullied it for me and sort of cancelled out the nutrition coming from all the freakiness. On the plus side, it does feature Warhol affiliate NY performance artist Penny Arcade as the murder guy's aunt.

[Slippery Jack]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

THE PAPERBOY - I really liked this.

Me too. That pulpy, sleazy, sweaty Southern Gothic vibe I thought worked really well . . .

[Wes]

Originally Posted by ArgentoFan1987

I wasn't sure where to post this: I've just bought a Blu-Ray Player. Could someone please tell some Blu-Rays that have the best special features (I've been told that some films such as Kingdom of Heaven lose out on a lot of the special features in comparison to the DVD)

Hey Marc, there's a lot of excellent Blu-Ray dedicated review sites out there but the most comprehensive is probably Blu-Ray.com. Try their reviews database here and use the filter to pinpoint what you want - one of the filters is a score by extras so you can list Blu's with 5-star extras right down. Handy. Also, if you're region-locked, and you're only playing region-B discs, make sure you glance at the Region Code info on the review...

The Beev is a great resource as well... step this way (the up-arrow means a superb disc and worth getting)

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Julia's Eyes. (2010)

A superior horror thriller from Spanish director Guillem Morales . Julia's Eyes tells the story of a woman trying to get to the bottom of her sisters apparent suicide. Along the way she is drugged and realises she is losing her eyesight.

Julia's Eyes is a terrific thriller with some strong horror overtones reminiscent of the best work of Dario Argento. Director Morales, an associate of Guillermo del Toro, who indeed acts as producer on the film, has created a film with a fascinating premise and some genuine scares along the way, best of all he doesn't resort to loud music crashes to fake the viewer into a jump. The scenes in the blind women's shower room are very unnerving and seem really creepy except there is no actual threat to be had. This scene alone makes Guillem Morales an excellent director in my view. Whilst the film is quite talky in places its still rivetting viewing which makes the flashes of horror even more devastating. One or two scenes are reminiscent of the aforementioned Argento at his absolute best.

Belen Rueda is quite superb in the role of Julia, utterly convincing and the object of our sympathies, in fact all the actors perform well with an intelligent script,and it isn't until the final reel that the film could ever be called formulaic.

For me Julia's Eyes is one of the best films i've seen this year

[Bringer Of Funerals]

Enter The Dragon on blu - classic Bruce Lee

I got all excited and nearly fell through the window after trying a flying kick after I watched it

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Julia's Eyes. (2010)

This is yet another film I haven't seen since I watched it for review even though I loved it and thought it was sophisticated and moving experience. As you mentioned, Belen Rueda shines in the title role, but then she seems to be excellent in every film in which she appears, particularly The Sea inside and The Orphanage.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

This is yet another film I haven't seen since I watched it for review even though I loved it and thought it was sophisticated and moving experience. As you mentioned, Belen Rueda shines in the title role, but then she seems to be excellent in every film in which she appears, particularly The Sea inside and The Orphanage.

Actresses such as Belen should be heading the latest blockbusters not here today gone tomorrow unknowns picked just because celeb magazines thrust them on us.

[Delirium]

Le Orme aka Footprints on the Moon.

The striking giallo regular Florinda Balkan stars here as a woman plagued by nightmares involving Klaus Kinski and a moon stranded astronaut. Having realised she's lost all memory of the past three days, she flys to the near-deserted resort named only as 'Garma' (which appears to be in Turkey), in which she expects to find answers.

I liked this a lot. Its exotic, sun-baked, near-deserted locale reminded me of Don't Torture a Duckling, and as far as gialli goes, this is a psychological thriller rather than a murder mystery - there's no black gloved killers stalking our lead here, as it's rather more a journey of self discovery.

With some gorgeous cinematography, a terrifically cacthy soundtrack and Balkan's usual brooding intensity, I was swept up in this. It's one that begs a rewatch, as I was quite tired and feel I may have missed some clues; so while the ending initially struck me as a bit of a cop-out, it's possible other interpretations could be had.

It also stars Nicoletta Elmi, the young girl from The Night Child, Who Saw Her Die?, Profondo Rosso and Demons among others. Apparently she quit acting and became a doctor later in life.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Julia's Eyes. (2010)

This one has been gathering dust on my Love Film queue for a while now. I'll have to bump it up to 'High Priority' in the near future.

Originally Posted by Delirium

Le Orme aka Footprints on the Moon.

Great review Delirium. You should join in with the monthly Review Club (as should anyone else who is interested).

[ArgentoFan1987]

Originally Posted by Wes

Hey Marc, there's a lot of excellent Blu-Ray dedicated review sites out there but the most comprehensive is probably Blu-Ray.com. Try their reviews database here and use the filter to pinpoint what you want - one of the filters is a score by extras so you can list Blu's with 5-star extras right down. Handy. Also, if you're region-locked, and you're only playing region-B discs, make sure you glance at the Region Code info on the review...

The Beev is a great resource as well... step this way (the up-arrow means a superb disc and worth getting)

Thanks a lot!!