What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nostalgic]

Twilight Zone season 1, disc 3: The Hitchiker.
Solid episode about a woman who has a breakdown& cannot shake a persistent hitchiker, adapted from a radio play, it's atmospheric with a great twist.

Game of Thrones? Pish! This is great tv!

[MrBarlow]

Final Appeal 1993.

A hard drinking lawyer is hired to defend his sister in a case of murder, she pleads it was self defense.

Shown in flashbacks of the background story was decent enough, Brian Dennehey plays the drunk lawyer and Jobeth Williams as the sister accused. This is not a big budget film, made for TV film this was decent and enjoyable to watch, Dennehey's performance is always good to watch. its quite a steady pace movie with some tense moments. 6-7 out of 10.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Spectre (2015)

At the end of every Bond film, somewhere in the credits comes the announcement - James Bond Will Return. Well, since the end of Die Another Day some four films back he doesn't actually seem to have made it back to our screens, although with Spectre it seems he might just be waiting at the bus stop to return.

Spectre is a well constructed action film (albeit, again 20 minutes too long) with a few Bond traits added. In fact more than a few. Pretty much every action set piece comes from an earlier Bond film. From the train fight (From Russia with Love / Live and Let Die) to the mountain pursuit (too many to mention) to the Thames river chase (The World is Not Enough) much seems recycled. Not that this is entirely a bad thing. Spectre it seems goes out of it's way to say that it's a Bond film. We have the mountain top clinic (OHMSS), the evil genius hiding out in the desert in a crater / base to the old Aston Martin DB5 at the end, and yet it still feels subdued.

I don't know if this is due to the yellowy tint the film seems to have or because Sam Mendes isn't the greatest action director but Spectre feels a gloomy film to watch rather than a celebratory spectacle like Bond of old.

We are getting there though!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

My Favorite Wife (1940)

A classic screwball comedy that isn't as fast talking as some but still achieves laughs, mainly via Cary Grant's reaction to events which take place. It's Irene Dunne who steals the film though with an absolutely charming performance.

Despite the fact we are rooting for Grant to get back with Dunne - his once thought lost wife who ended up stuck on a desert island for seven years - it's worth sparing a thought for Gail Patrick as Grant's newly wed wife. She's easily dismissed in the script to make way for Dunne when in fact she has actually done nothing wrong in the eyes of the audience, it's the script writers who conveniently change her character to alienate her rather than give her a proper storyline making it feel a bit awkward.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

John Carpenter's second riff on Rio Bravo following 1976's Assault on Precinct 13, but this time he takes the action to what is essentially a western ghost town on a Martian landscape populated by over enthusiastic Marilyn Manson fans.

The story is a well trodden affair in which the law (Natasha Henstridge, Pam Grier, Jason Statham) have to team up with bad old Ice Cube and his bunch of cons in a bid to survive the night.

I know everything Carpenter directed following 94's In the Mouth of Madness is generally not well loved but i really like Ghosts of Mars. It's a tight pacy affair with good dialogue and razor sharp action. In short, a film i always return to.

[Nordicdusk]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

John Carpenter's second riff on Rio Bravo following 1976's Assault on Precinct 13, but this time he takes the action to what is essentially a western ghost town on a Martian landscape populated by over enthusiastic Marilyn Manson fans.

.

[Inspector Abberline]

Mario Bava's Twitch of The Death Nerve..(that's the title I prefer over Bay of Blood, or any other name they might of given it)…is one of the few movies I absolutely love where there isn't a single redeeming character amongst the whole bunch of them. For example the film Your Next suffers from the same problem, not a single sympathetic person amongst the whole miserable bunch, in fact even the killers who I normally route for were equally annoying as the heroine, a film I will never go back to again...The same applies to Bay of Blood,er I mean Twitch, but I'm sure this was done on purpose as the whole plot of inheriting a piece of land has sent the family into a murderous frenzy, along with the illegitimate son and the estate agent...Although to be honest why anybody wants this piece of land is beyond me, for one thing the bay is full of dead bodies and squidgy squid...I'm no Bava expert, but this seems quite a different direction compared to his earlier gothic movies, this is more of a full on popcorn slasher movie, and murder has never been so much fun...Special mention must go to Brigitte Skay as Brunhilde , again a terribly irritating character but I take my hat off to the actress, that water looked flaming cold and horrible looking, I especially liked there yellow dune buggy, very hip..

[trebor8273]

A Small Town Sheriff investigates the brutal killing a two students, some of the town's folk believe it to be the work of aliens as a what was believed to be a meteor fall to earth the night of the killings, this turns out to be partial true when NASA turn up saying it was a crashed craft , that had various animals onboard, all the animals were found to be brutal ripped to pieces, it soon becomes apparent that one of the animals has survived an days mutated and is going around killing the townsfolk. Sadly not much happens as most of the time is taking up with local teens arguing and dancing . 4.5/10


Now watching cigarette burns.hzHaNcFe7dcRMfR3VxbK1eJ58kw.jpg

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[Paul Zombie]

Messiah of Evil(1973)

Arletty ( the very pretty Marianna Hill) goes to visit her father in a creepy coastal town and discovers a moon cult of flesh eating zombies.

A slow moving and spooky film dripping with atmosphere and weird characters, including a very strange albino chap.
And well acted by a cast of unknowns, with memorable scenes in a supermarket where the ghouls are all tucking into the meat in the freezers, and a young girl getting attacked by the patrons at the local cinema.
not as gory as you would think as much of what happens is done off camera. but still packs a punch nevertheless.

Overall this is another great 70s gem that is well worth a watch. quirky and dreamlike, but holds your interest 72 out of 10

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Robert Rodriguez's film of two halves delivers everything you'd want - excessive violence, sharp dialogue courtesy of Quentin Tarantino's script, fantastic FX and glorious bad taste.

The film scores thanks to a sharp U-turn around the fifty minute mark which will stun someone watching the film as i did at the cinema without any preconceived ideas all those years ago, together with engaging performances where even the bad guys are (toe sucking) anti heroes and high energy levels all round. Yes it's gross at times, and high camp at others, not to mention very splattery, but it's never not fun and has a killer Tex - Mex soundtrack to boot.