What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[trebor8273]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1437252304.281480.jpg

Went in not expecting much but was totally blowing away, while not quite as good as the original it's miles ahead of the sequels. A true summer blockbuster in ever sense of the word a none stop roller coaster ride of awesome dinosaur action. Really enjoyed all the little nods towards the original. Highlight had to be the dinosaur battle royal at the end. Only downside it just didn't have the same sense of awe and wonder of the first movie. I know really want my own raptor for Christmas. 9/10

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1437252698.078442.jpg

Interesting documentary on cannon films whose story was just as wacky and strange as some of their films. Shows the snobbery that most of Hollywood ( and a lot of the people interviewed) had against them, which is strange as nowadays a lot of films produced by company's that looked down on them can be said to be very cannon like. Hey I will happily say I enjoyed most of their movies more than a lot of other films around the same time that won awards and a had critics wanking off too. Plenty of great clips as well. 7.5/10

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1437253026.534607.jpg

Very interesting story of what could of been we had some very interesting ideas and story boards. As well as some horrible ideas, a studio exec who didn't want superman to fly or even wear his suit and the awful suit that nic cage was supposed to wear. Tim burton and Kevin Smith are some of those interviewed. Smith' s script sounded amazing and really would of liked to of seen it brought to the screen as smith himself says it sounded like pure wank material for comic book fans. 8.5/10

[iank]

Put on the 1955 Hammer flick The Quatermass Xperiment last night. Turned it off after just over halfway through - just really, really boring and poorly done. I was beginning to regret blind-buying the Blu ray, but the disc comes with two "extras" in the form of two other full-length 50s Hammer flicks, Quatermass II and X The Unknown. In desperation, I slapped on the latter - and I'm glad I did!
I had a whale of a time with X The Unknown. An earthquake opens up an enormous - and seemingly bottomless - fissure in the earth, from which emerges a Blob-like energy creature that feeds on radiation and is itself radioactive - and it starts leaving a trail of bodies across the English countryside. Leo McKern stars in this hugely entertaining B movie horror flick that felt very much like a 1950s Doctor Who story (if there was such a thing!). It was fast-paced, fun, atmospheric and funny and I also had fun playing spot the 60s/70s Doctor Who actors (Wow, it's a young Kenneth Cope! Blimey, it's Edwin Richfield! Holy cow, it's Sam Seeley from Spearhead from Space! ****, it's an 11 year old Fraser Hines!).
Really fun. The B-list "extra" was way better than the main feature!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by iank

Put on the 1955 Hammer flick The Quatermass Xperiment last night. Turned it off after just over halfway through - just really, really boring and poorly done. I was beginning to regret blind-buying the Blu ray, but the disc comes with two "extras" in the form of two other full-length 50s Hammer flicks, Quatermass II and X The Unknown. In desperation, I slapped on the latter - and I'm glad I did!
I had a whale of a time with X The Unknown. An earthquake opens up an enormous - and seemingly bottomless - fissure in the earth, from which emerges a Blob-like energy creature that feeds on radiation and is itself radioactive - and it starts leaving a trail of bodies across the English countryside. Leo McKern stars in this hugely entertaining B movie horror flick that felt very much like a 1950s Doctor Who story (if there was such a thing!). It was fast-paced, fun, atmospheric and funny and I also had fun playing spot the 60s/70s Doctor Who actors (Wow, it's a young Kenneth Cope! Blimey, it's Edwin Richfield! Holy cow, it's Sam Seeley from Spearhead from Space! ****, it's an 11 year old Fraser Hines!).
Really fun. The B-list "extra" was way better than the main feature!

X-The Unknown is my fave of the Hammer sci-fi's. Although i also really like Quatermass II as well.

The Quatermass Experiment and Quatermass and the Pit are the lesser ones in my opinion. The latter has a lot of fans though.

I'm looking forward to the Quatermass series starring John Mills that's coming soon from Network here in the UK. Should be a goody.

[Frankie Teardrop]

LADY TERMINATOR – With all the recent Terminator talk going on, how could I resist pulling out 'Lady Terminator', acme of T-101 rip offs and certainly a film from which James Cameron could learn a thing or two. An anthropologist goes looking for evidence of a local legend. Her travels take her underwater, where she ends up being possessed by an ancient spirit with a retractable penis-biting snake. Returning to the mainland, she pulls on some biker leathers, grabs a machine gun, and goes looking for the recipient of a hundred year old curse, an eighties pop star. Loads of people get shot. An incredibly wooden police officer is called upon. Sex ends in blood spray and (off screen) penis-biting-by-retractable-snake. Endless volleys of bullets resound in hotels, shopping malls and police stations. Lasers shoot from a mangled hag's eyes – how VHS is that? Finally, “Shit blow up”. LT is a bit like a film that might only exist in a dream, except it's real (apparently). It's an Indonesian exploitation film from the late eighties which sells itself both as an exploration of indigenous mythology (the back story is 'The Legend of the South Sea Queen') and as an action sci-fi extravaganza. It can only really pretend to be either. The Terminator style bits aren't done well, and don't make sense. They're entirely out of context. But they're there. They kind of sum up the credo of 'Lady Terminator' as a whole. Because, make no mistake, although it's not ludicrously cheap looking, LT is certainly a bad, bad movie. Acting, dialogue, editing, pace, feel and concept – all awful. But it's an awfulness beamed in from an eighties wonderland, a rock video world of perms, dry ice and soft focus neon. So it has that uncanny dreaminess born of stilted, fractured badness unfolding against those unreal textures. It can't hope to be a 'Miami Connection' or a 'Samurai Cop' in terms of movie psychosis. It's just not up there. It's in a not too distant orbit though, perhaps nearer that part of the movie cosmos where Bruno Mattei and Godfrey Ho sail by, beaming messages no-one really understands into a black, endless void. Woah, I'm gonna have to stop this celestial bollocks, it's only a movie. Come down. Say something sensible. But what sensible thing is there to be said about this eminently not-sensible movie? Apart from, that is – see it, if you haven't already. The Terminator series might boast objectively better cinema, but in some strange way I prefer 'Lady Terminator', which pushes buttons the likes of Cameron couldn't even find.

[Inspector Abberline]

The Desperate Hours (1955)
By no means Bogart's best film,but it sticks out as a great performance,gone is the slick private eye and in is the grizzled cigar chewing gun toting criminal on the lam.A true villainous role he's not averse to threatening to shot a woman in the head or kick there kid to death.What you get is Bogart gate crashing the 1950's,he's no pretty boy learning to play with his first hula hop,he's unshaven angry and willing to kill anyone who gets in his way of revenge.To be honest there's no one in the cast that can square up to Bogie in the acting stakes,Fredric March plays the besieged father of the family but he's no match for Bogart.Unfortunately the film loses some steam as it gets closer to its conclusion and the police close in on the gang.But Bogie don't go down without a fight but a hail of bullets.
The Sadist.1963
Arch Hall Jnr rock n roller and friend of Ray Dennis Steckler pretty much creates the blueprint for psycho killer trailer trash.Hall twists and contorts his way thru 90 odd mins of sweaty hostage held fun.Three school teachers break down on there way to a baseball game and manage to find the only car scrapyard in the middle of nowhere,unfortunately for them the owners have been killed by Hall and his girlfriend played by . Marilyn Manning as Judy Bradshaw who seems to be mute apart from some shy chuckling to her self.Part film noir part teenage delinquent flick Arch Hall,Jnr. is absolutely brilliant as a sneering hate filled punk,If you thought teens of today were bad then you ain't seen nothing until you see Arch Hall,Jnr. gurn and torment his victims.
The Son of Kong.1933
King Kong saved RKO Pictures and kept them going for another 20 yrs,so it's not surprising that a sequel was made.Using pretty much the same crew and cast from King Kong,Son Of gave the filmmakers a chance to improve on the techniques they started on Kong.And it has to be said that Willis O'Briens effects are just as good and in some cases better than in KOng.The story sees Denham (Robert Armstong) flee the US and hook up with Captain Englehorn as they try to go into the import business together but what do you know they hook up with a sexy waif in the shape of Helen Mack and end up on Skull Island looking for treasure. ,As with the first film there's plenty of beasts for kong Jnr to wrestle and batter,especially entertaing is the scrap with the giant cave bear and a Nothosaurus (eh).Son Of certainly inherited his dad's street fighting skills as he pummels his opponents into mush.It goes without saying Son isn't as good as King Kong,its far to short ,running in at 69mins,so all characterisation is thrown out the porthole and alot of scenes are played for chuckles rather shockles,so Son Of Kong does pull allot of funny faces which i suspect would be to entertain the kiddies watching.That said i rather enjoyed it's simplicity and gung ho nature,Son of Kong is fun and entertaining,and with that ending there won't be a dry eye in the house.

[trebor8273]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

LADY TERMINATOR – With all the recent Terminator talk going on, how could I resist pulling out 'Lady Terminator', acme of T-101 rip offs and certainly a film from which James Cameron could learn a thing or two. An anthropologist goes looking for evidence of a local legend. Her travels take her underwater, where she ends up being possessed by an ancient spirit with a retractable penis-biting snake. Returning to the mainland, she pulls on some biker leathers, grabs a machine gun, and goes looking for the recipient of a hundred year old curse, an eighties pop star. Loads of people get shot. An incredibly wooden police officer is called upon. Sex ends in blood spray and (off screen) penis-biting-by-retractable-snake. Endless volleys of bullets resound in hotels, shopping malls and police stations. Lasers shoot from a mangled hag's eyes – how VHS is that? Finally, “Shit blow up”. LT is a bit like a film that might only exist in a dream, except it's real (apparently). It's an Indonesian exploitation film from the late eighties which sells itself both as an exploration of indigenous mythology (the back story is 'The Legend of the South Sea Queen') and as an action sci-fi extravaganza. It can only really pretend to be either. The Terminator style bits aren't done well, and don't make sense. They're entirely out of context. But they're there. They kind of sum up the credo of 'Lady Terminator' as a whole. Because, make no mistake, although it's not ludicrously cheap looking, LT is certainly a bad, bad movie. Acting, dialogue, editing, pace, feel and concept – all awful. But it's an awfulness beamed in from an eighties wonderland, a rock video world of perms, dry ice and soft focus neon. So it has that uncanny dreaminess born of stilted, fractured badness unfolding against those unreal textures. It can't hope to be a 'Miami Connection' or a 'Samurai Cop' in terms of movie psychosis. It's just not up there. It's in a not too distant orbit though, perhaps nearer that part of the movie cosmos where Bruno Mattei and Godfrey Ho sail by, beaming messages no-one really understands into a black, endless void. Woah, I'm gonna have to stop this celestial bollocks, it's only a movie. Come down. Say something sensible. But what sensible thing is there to be said about this eminently not-sensible movie? Apart from, that is – see it, if you haven't already. The Terminator series might boast objectively better cinema, but in some strange way I prefer 'Lady Terminator', which pushes buttons the likes of Cameron couldn't even find.

Have to agree just like you I enjoy this a lot more than terminator, it's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but as you say pushes all the right buttons

[keirarts]

Doctor Mordrid

Jeffrey Combs plays Doctor Stran... sorry doctor MORDRID in a 'homage' to Marvel comics Dr Strange. Mordrid's evil bro, played by musclebound Brian Thompson has escaped his mystical prison in order to destroy humanity and only one man can stop him!
Not one of Full moons more successful pictures, Mordrid is still great fun. Like with a lot of the stuff Charles Band was pumping out around this time the sets are fantastic and the effects work holds up with a great deal of charm. It's a diverting 90 minutes of comic book action with a nice bit of full frontal nudity thrown in because what the hell. A few edits however and this would actually make decent family viewing.


Nemesis.

Low budgeter from Albert Pyun that does futuristic sci-fi with clever use of location and some great camera and editing to make the whole thing feel more expensive than it actually is. Nice to see Brion James turning up and sporting another Ludicrous accent, not as f*****g weird as his one in Tango & Cash but then nothing is that weird.
The cyberpunk ideas in the film are hit and miss given the rapid advances of communications and computer technology that have come on since this was made in 1992. It actually would be interesting to see this re-visited, post Ghost in the Shell to see what would get made considering what can be done on a small budget today. Certainly character 'deaths' could be handled somewhat differently given the potential for cyborgs to broadcast themselves into new bodies and hack their opponents.
But I digress, this is a decent little sci-fi actioner. Not sure I'd upgrade to that £60 german set for the bonus materials however as i'm not that big a fan. Oliver Gruner is a terrible actor unfortunately and has a hard time carrying the film. Its fortunate that Pyun managed to land Tim Thomerson as the villain as he really brings it on every picture.

Nemesis 2.

Thankfully ditching Gruner, Nemesis 2 stars Sue Price, a female body builder as Alex. A young woman taken from the future because she carries DNA that spells the end of the Cyborgs. Raised by an African tribe a Cyborg assasin comes back from the future to kill her and she must fight for survival.
Essentially a cross between Rambo and Predator but done with no money the film is mainly Alex running through the desert, occasionally fighting rebels and the Cyborg assasin. Once agin it makes the most of what its got to provide a distracting 80+ mins of action.


Nemesis 3.

The outtakes and some additional scenes cut together with a bit of new material to make another film. Good to see Tim Thomerson turn up again who is by far and away the best thing in this otherwise middling effort. Once again some decent action but this feels like an even cheaper cash in of a series that's already pretty low rent. Still it came in the box set. I'm now dreading the fourth film.

[demonknight]

Watched David Fincher's THE GAME last night in HD. Great movie starring the great Michael Douglas and the equally great Sean Penn. Saw this movie years ago and I loved it. Nice to finally own it on Blu-ray. The HD transfer was very pleasing. No extras, not even a trailer. Good movie though.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Eden and After (1970)

Some people on here (B_E, Nos,Keir, Slowly, Frankie etc) will have viewed this and found it as straightforward as reading The Beano.

As for me i didn't have a clue what was going on. At one point i felt it was a film about a cafe where a group of people went to get high and what we were seeing on screen were their drug fueled dreams, but i'm really not so sure.

What i am sure about is how much i enjoyed Eden and After. The films lead actress, Catherine Jourdan, is a gorgeous feast for the eyes, especially in her extremely short silk mini dress, and a complement to director Alain Robbe-Grillet's erotically charged and often dangerously disturbing imagery. Imagery which is on occassions so bizarre and surreal i expected Zé do Caixão to appear out of the blue.

So despite the film seeming like a waking dream, or nightmare, depending on your state of mind, i heartily recommend Eden and After to anyone after something a little different to the norm

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Cat Girl (1957)

Soon to be Hammer regular Barbara Shelley stars as Leonora, a young woman obsessed by the idea that she is heir to an ancestral curse causing her to develop the ferocious, predatory instincts of a leopard.

Cat Girl is more of a Lewton-esq chiller than Hammer horror. Leaning towards the psycological aspects as seen in Tourneur's Cat People and it's sequel. Just like the Lewton films Cat Girl combines the Gothic with a grittier noir like urban horror, the best example being when Shelley stalks a pretty blonde through the gloomy streets and alleyways. Again reminiscent of a scene from Cat People.

The film grabs your attention from the off and keeps it held tightly throughout it's slender 72 minute run time.

Not as good as Tourneur's classic, but a delightful film in it's own right and one that is well worth discovering.

The dvd from Network is fully restored and looks gorgeous.

This is a much shorter version of a review posted here.

https://www.cult-labs.com/forums/mem...tml#post457255