What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Prom Night IV

This starts out in a blizzard of big knickered teen humping, self flagulating priests, murder by dagger crucifix and stigmata....then fizzles out into an at best average slasher film. It is a shame as the opening 10 minutes are great.

Yeti: The 20th Century Giant

Bizarre rip off of the 1976 King Kong film featuring a Kong sized Yeti with a Pat Sharp hair cut. The yeti makes friends with a woman, a boy (who I thought was a girl) and a dog. The film is a weird mix of crap action set pieces and cringe inducing sentiment. If Italy had had a Children's Film Foundation, this is the type of shite it would have produced. Strangely likeable.

[trebor8273]

Let's start with the positive it looks absolutely brilliant but that's about it, it's very dull and the kills are pretty substandard, it has some very interesting ideas but they aren't explored and with the rather lame shock ending it's average at best. 5/10




For me a very underrated film and one of my favourites from last year, Ben Affleck plays the title role of an accountant with a difference, well acted and paced with an interesting take on the usual action hero, also how many films have Batman and the Punisher having a fight? 9/10


Now watching Phantasm.

[bleakshaun]

I know I'm a day early but let schlocktober begin
To start things of tonight I watched:
Deep River Savages
A man in Thailand, gets forced out of Bangkok and is kidnapped by tribesmen, where he is tortured and then falls in love with one of the tribe.
I still enjoy this film, watching it dubbed is ad, but not the worst, however certain animal sequences still feel uncomfortable to sit through.
7/10

Shadowbuilder
An ancient evil is summoned and aims to possess a boy, a priest must stop him.
I enjoyed this thoroughly years ago; however now I found it rather meh, the difficulty isn't really in the acting; Michael Rooker does bring a good performance that's hindered by the script, the problem comes with the film itself, it seems to be uncertain as to whether it plays out as a horror film or an action film and never brings balance.
5/10

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[MrBarlow]

The Last Emperor 1987

The film follows Pu-Yi who at three years old became Emperor of China in the forbidden city.

The film is shown in flashbacks as Pu-Yi was given a burden then understanding and learn how to be a boy to ruler. This is a very powerful movie. John Lone portrayal as Pu as a adult is perfect. Peter O'Toole in this as his English teacher and in a sober role
This is a film that is beautifully shot on location of the actual forbidden city. 10 out of 10

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Excellent adaptation of Tennessee Williams most famous play. Newman and Taylor crackle with Williams raw dialogue whilst Burl Ives dominates and spits venom whilst Madeleine Sherwood and Jack Carson's kids annoy the shit out of everyone.

Talky yet gripping, a superb ensemble piece.

Who Killed Bambi? (2003)

Equally fascinating and supremely gripping, this French thriller with horror overtones drips with icy tension from start to finish as a corrupt doctor drugs attractive female patients following surgery and sexually assaults them. Sophie Quinton's young trainee nurse is an appealing character but the vile Dr. Philipp is a monster that is all too real.

Disturbing stuff. Recommended.

G.I. Jane (1987)

Demi Moore stars as the first woman to be enrolled in the US S.E.A.L. program. The first forty minutes is eye rolling stuff and you'll laugh as Moore yells 'Suck my dick!' at Viggo Mortensen's tough Master Chief. Despite the absurdities it's still an enjoyable watch thanks to the assured touch of director Ridley Scott.

[iank]

Psycho. Marian Crane (Janet Leigh) is a secretary who makes an impulsive decision to steal a whole lot of money from her employer and skip town. On the road, she realises she has made a terrible mistake and decides to go back and try to salvage the situation, only to make the fateful decision to stay the night at the roadside venue known only as the Bates Motel... Alfred Hitchcock's seminal 60s shocker is still pretty entertaining today. Anthony Perkins is great as the seemingly innocent Norman, and although the film is a bit dated and takes some time to get going (the last hour or so is considerably more gripping than the first 40 minutes), and I do very much prefer the 80s sequel, Psycho II, I still rather enjoyed it.

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

that will be keirarts !

I wish. My Oliver reed lifestyle needs financing!

[keirarts]

Time to play catch up....

Close encounters of the third kind.

Another in my local cinema's 4K season. I'm glad I opted to go see this as it confirmed my opinions on the film. Theatrically its great fun. It's a film designed to be pure visual spectacle. While some of the effects have not dated that well (mainly the aliens) its still a solid theatrical experience. Like a lot of the bigger noisier multiplex fodder that would follow it has no real depth though. Spielberg is a great technician, possibly one of the best. However beyond the initial wow factor of watching things unfold on screen there's precious little else.

[keirarts]

Kotoko

Like Vital, in many ways this feels like a step away from the traditional Tsukamoto film. Its about a single mother with mental health problems who has her kid taken away. Sure the premise sounds like pure oscar bait material however in this directors hands its like a journey into the characters psyche. Cleverly the film remains quite static and formal until we get brought into one of Kotoko's 'episodes' then we get the shakey cam, rapid editing we normally expect. This really put me into Kotoko's position as its happening and really helped generate a lot of empathy for the character. It helps that the actress is really damned good in it as well. A definite tear jerker by the end as well.

Punch Drunk Love

While Adam Sandlers habit of turning out awful one-dimensional crap in order to piss about with his mates has become something of the norm, its easy to forget that when someone lights a fire under his ass and makes him act he can actually deliver. Here he plays Barry, a lonely guy with extremely repressed rage and anxiety that seems to manifest in sudden acts of destruction. He meets a woman who might be his soulmate (played by emily watson) however its jepordised when a group of lowlifes attempt to extort him after he calls a sex line.
This is definitely Sandlers best picture by miles. A throwback to whimsical Hollywood romance with a dark scabrous underbelly that can make it uncomfortable viewing. It takes Sandlers goofy persona then digs deep to find some real darkness buried underneath. The criterion release comes highly recommended.

[keirarts]

Phantasm 1-5

I've pretty much reviewed these films several times already and its pretty much certain most people here have seen them countless times. Phantasm plays pretty much like you've climbed into someones nightmare and watching things unfold. It seems somewhat illogical if your looking for traditional horror structure but it remains consistent to its own internal logic. Phantasm 2 goes more commercial with nods to Evil dead as the characters hunt the Tall man. There's still some of the dream logic of the original but it's dialled right back. Ultimately its still a lot of fun. Phantasm 3 is more of the same but with a lower budget. Phantasm 4 has no money whatsoever and reuses a lot of the unused footage from the first film. Coscarelli gets a lot of mileage from it however and it plays with ideas of time and space as it looks at how the Tall man became a monster. Phantasm Ravager More ambition than the budget can handle it suffers from some bad effects work. Here we have to decide if Reggie Bannister is fighting a never ending war against the tall man, or slowly deteriorating from dementia. Or are both things happening at the same time?